Each Association President and Leaders from Agencies Represented will give a short description of their organization

9:30 AM

Discussion Pod #1

Richard Stiennon

Chief Research Analyst, IT-Harvest

10:00 AM

Discussion Pod #2

Pamela Gupta

CEO, Trusted AI 

Founder NEACS

De-Risking AI Adoption to promote AI Value

10:30AM

Discussion Pod #3

Prof. Fredrick Scholl, PhD.

Panelists: 

• Dr. Chad Williams, Chair, Computer Science - Central Connecticut State University
• Dr. Mehdi Mekni, Professor, Director of Computer Science Programs, University of New Haven 
• Suzette Leal, CISM First Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer/Corporate Security Officer - Ion Bank
• Brian Kelly, Director of Information Security | CISSP, CISM - Community Health Network of Connecticut
• Dennis Klemenz, CIO - Jovia

Academia Cybersecurity: "What Does a Cyber Grad Do For Me?"

Universities (like our gracious host, Quinnipiac) offer both undergrad and graduate degrees in “Cybersecurity,”  Many CISOs are asking “What does a recent cybersecurity graduate do for me?”  Do they work in the SOC?  Are they prepared for leadership roles?  How do I best fill those entry-level roles I need on my team?   In this session, cybersecurity professors will discuss what is included in the programs, and how to best utilize these recent grads in your fraud-fighting or cybersecurity staff. 

Moderated Panel: Postulating a Better Connection for Industry & Academics  

The  biggest challenge to filling cyber jobs is the reluctance of industry to offer meaningful training opportunities to students, before they graduate.  This is still an unsolved problem, even though people and groups are working on it. In this panel of local CISO Executives and University Professors, we will debate the issue and suggest solutions. 
 

11:00AM

Discussion Pod #4

Applied GenAI for Cybersecurity: In-House LLMs

In this discussion pod, Tim will demystify the overused term “AI,”  and focus on what is really NEW.  He will expand on where the hype is real and where it’s not. Participants will leave with better clarity: what this tech means, inherent risks, how to avoid the weaknesses and focus on using the strengths to positively affect security operations (and beyond). You may want to be an Applied GenAI Engineer by the end of this segment! 

Applied GenAI for Cybersecurity, a discussion of In-House LLMs and demystifying “AI”, inherent risks, focus on using the strengths to positively affect security operations

11:30AM

Discussion Pod #5

Your Budget is a Horse’s Ass

Explore the historical influence of horse-drawn carts on railcar dimensions and how it relates to rigid cybersecurity budgeting. Join this session to learn how to apply machine learning and other mathematical concepts to justify budget allocation, optimize risk, and design effective cybersecurity programs for limited resources.

1:00PM

Discussion Pod #6

Gregory Bautista

Partner

Mullen Coughlin LLC

Legal Perspectives on Breaches, Ransomware & IR: Trends & Predictions

FBI Criminal Investigative Division, IC3

(to be confirmed) 

The legal perspective around ransomware incidents is discussed often, and NEACS invited an expert attorney in the field to share some fascinating and insightful data points that you will remember long after the agenda concludes today.  Cyber is the singular focus for Mullen Coughlin, a law firm that handled over 14,000 incidents between 2020 and 2023. Gregory Bautista is a Partner, and brings a wealth of intelligence related to incident response, privacy litigation, and regulatory investigation defense.

1:30 PM

CISOs and Cyber Agencies

We will hear from numerous agencies from the federal and state governments, all charged with education, information and/or enforcement around fraud and cyber.  Our tax dollars at work, they provide a plethora of services and direct help for private and public sector organizations.  

In this discussion, we will hear from some of the CISOs who have been leveraging intelligence, education, and services from those agencies as well as leaders from within CISA, the FBI and the State Fusion Center.  They will discuss how they have been working together in recent years, and suggest ways in which the private sector and government agencies can learn from each other. 

2:00 PM

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

FBI Criminal Investigative Division, IC3

IC3's mission is to provide the public with a reliable and convenient reporting mechanism to submit information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning suspected Internet-facilitated criminal activity and to develop effective alliances with law enforcement and industry partners. Information is analyzed and disseminated for investigative and intelligence purposes to law enforcement and for public awareness.

Look for detailed data that will help security leaders as they think crtically about today's biggest threats

2:30 PM