Cyber Summit 2023

Welcome to Day 1 of the 2023 Cyber Summit!

The government’s most essential, and powerful, assets are increasingly frequent targets for attackers. Electric utilities, water treatment plants, chemical manufacturers, hospitals, and even schools, are all under threat. Now, more than ever, cybersecurity experts understand an attack is not a matter of if, but when.

The current cyber landscape requires a reimagination of how security operations centers operate. SOC’s have traditionally been structured around the Role of the Security Operator, not the Data.  Lacking automation and DevOps practices. SOC’s must move from a role-centric model, towards Data Centric SecOps.

State and local agencies seeking additional layers of protection through cyber insurance and elsewhere have a significant barrier to address: technical debt. Reliance on legacy systems has delayed overdue upgrades in IT infrastructure and software, accumulating debt that is only further delaying modernization efforts. Where can agencies go from here? How are leaders overcoming this financial hurdle?

In this agency spotlight, leaders from the City of Pittsburgh Department of Innovation and Performance detail how they are building and adapting a hybrid cloud model to drive better performance and security.

The more recent adoption and widespread use of cryptocurrency has led to rapidly advancing cyber crime related threats including online fraud, money laundering, and beyond. Many of these cyber crimes span federal, state, and local entities. In this spotlight, Special Agent in Charge Bill Smarr shares how law enforcement can best navigate this emerging threat landscape, how state and local leaders can prepare their communities, and where there are opportunities for collaboration.

From the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cyber attacks are on the rise, in war and out. But defending against such attacks takes more than a plucky band of hackers or a few government IT professionals. This panel will discuss how world events are forging and shaping partnerships for better cyber defenses.

In an ever evolving threat landscape, effective and impactful cybersecurity practices do not happen in a silo. Instead, they require intentional and proactive collaboration efforts across lines of business, internal teams, and even agencies. In this interactive session, Professional Development Academy's Executive Vice President Tim Rahschulte provides insights and advice for how IT professionals, procurement analysts, program managers, and beyond, can work together for a more secure and resilient cyber landscape.

Day 1 of the 2023 Cyber Summit comes to a close and we preview Day 2.

George Jackson kicks off an in-person day of programming at the GovExec Cyber Summit.

David McKeown joins the GovExec Cyber Summit for an exclusive conversation on the current threat landscape and its changes over recent years, how these evolutions are impacting broader priorities across the department, and where the DOD OCIO is headed over the next year.

A disproportionate number of ransomware and other attacks are directed at state and local entities. In an effort to bolster defenses, many state governments are changing their tactics, turning to a “stronger together” mindset through a whole-of-state approach. Where do counties, governors, and state CISOs have room to collaborate? How are state leaders leveraging their pool of resources to better defend against looming threats?

What started as a supply chain shortage in semiconductors has turned into a critical inflection point in global competition. The U.S. is seeking to expand its semiconductor workforce to meet leadership, innovation, national security and economic goals as part of the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act. How are agencies and sectors coming together to drive technological progress? What role do these advances play in ensuring the U.S. rises as global tech leader once again?

The generative AI revolution is here; with the technology already being used by our adversaries, government and industry must collaborate to understand both the benefits and risks to begin responsible implementation that assists the federal workforce.

The recently released National Cyber Strategy calls for an investment in workforce development, incentives for stronger cybersecurity requirements, disruption of threat actors, international partnerships and implementation of stronger security measures. In many ways, these sentiments validate previously held approaches by government cyber experts. How are leaders and cyber practitioners implementing the new directives? What responsibility do individual cyber experts have in furthering the strategy? This session seeks to provide a tangible roadmap for how you can immediately implement the strategy into your work.

Cloud services allow federal agencies to quickly scale their IT infrastructure and services based on demand, enable remote work and collaboration and enhance accessibility. However, cloud technology also poses new challenges for federal agencies. Security risks, compliance with data privacy and security regulations, and integration with existing systems all have to be managed. Hear from AWS and Cohesity discuss the key strategies to data protection confidence.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have raised concerns about the threat Tik Tok poses to national security, and the issue has gone viral as experts and users weigh in on its future. What security and data privacy considerations are raised by the discussion about TikTok? And what implications would banning the platform have on other applications?

Our nation’s essential assets are increasingly frequent targets for attackers. Electric utilities, water treatment plants, hospitals, and even schools face the threat of cyber-attack. Against this backdrop, the U.S. must shift its thinking in the public and private sectors to view cyberspace as one battlespace. With leadership providing a fresh vision and new national-level strategies, now is the time for us to move toward a holistic approach to defending our critical infrastructure.

Experts agree: it’s time to build a more robust and sustainable cyber workforce. Removing barriers to recruitment, incentivizing retention, and prioritizing diversity and inclusion are among the main focus areas of human capital professionals. How far along are these priorities into implementation and what more can be done to build a forward-focused workforce?

Banning a single app like TikTok is only scratching the surface with more than 9 million other apps that send data to China. This session will examine the differences between potentially risky apps and those with malicious intent, where legitimate threats have been discovered by Lookout. Learn about how geopolitics plays into the spectrum of mobile threat landscape and how to gain visibility into the full mobile attack lifecycle.

In this fireside chat, Frank Konkel sits down with Laura Galante to better understand the cyber priorities within the intelligence community, where technology can be leveraged, the future of artificial intelligence, and more. Tune in for a peak behind the curtain.