Philadelphia

Dr. Ron Ross, a living legend in cybersecurity and one of the most influential architects of our nation’s cyber defense frameworks, joins us in-person for an extraordinary keynote conversation not to be missed. With decades of pioneering work at NIST, including authoring landmark initiatives like the Risk Management Framework and the NIST Systems Security Engineering Guidelines, Dr. Ross brings unmatched insight into the future of cybersecurity. This powerful session—moderated by Parham Eftekhari, EVP at CRA Communities—will explore the most urgent priorities and transformative strategies needed to ignite meaningful change in our cyber posture. Dr. Ross will also share freely available tools and resources designed to empower practitioners across sectors. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to engage with one of cybersecurity’s most visionary leaders.

As organizations rapidly adopt generative AI and emerging technologies, security leaders face a critical challenge: enabling innovation while managing risk. Traditional approaches to security and risk management are being tested by AI’s unique characteristics and far-reaching business impact. The solution may not lie in complex new organizational structures like “fusion centers,” but rather in a more fundamental reimagining of how we approach security governance. Enter the Five Cs framework – a pragmatic approach that bridges the gap between innovation and security without creating additional organizational complexity. Join LevelBlue, a global leader in security services, as we share field insights from helping organizations navigate AI adoption. Learn how the Five Cs framework can help you.

In the age of Generative AI (GenAI), data has transcended its role as a valuable asset, it’s now the engine fueling innovation and powering AI models that are reshaping industries. But this new frontier comes with high stakes. Organizations face a dual challenge: preventing accidental data leakage from employees using public GenAI tools, while still empowering the workforce to harness the transformative power of AI. To address this, companies must focus on implementing robust safeguards to ensure sensitive information is protected and doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Enter Zero Trust & Agentic AI, a transformative approach to security that redefines how we protect and manage critical assets. In this session, we’ll explore how Zero Trust principles apply to modern data protection challenges, including the emerging risks brought about by GenAI technologies. You’ll discover what it takes to defend your data in this AI-powered era, ensuring it remains your most valuable resource, not your greatest vulnerability. What You’ll Gain: Insights into the unique data security risks posed by GenAI, and how attackers leverage AI to amplify the threat landscape. Strategies for implementing Zero Trust controls tailored to protect data in environments increasingly integrated with AI tools and applications. Actionable tactics to prevent sensitive data from being misused, compromised, or exploited to train public AI models. A forward-looking perspective on how AI-powered analytics can enhance Zero Trust enforcement with real-time insights and anomaly detection.

Key Topics:

• Building and managing effective incident response plans.
• Detecting and mitigating cyber and physical threats.
• Using real-time data and intelligence for decision-making.

Why It Matters:
Security managers often handle tactical responses. Understanding effective response strategies ensures timely containment and resolution of incidents.

Data security has been around for decades, and yet, it still feels like an unsolvable puzzle. Legacy technologies are typically resource-intensive, find just a small portion of companies’ sensitive data, and produce a ton of false positives. The impact to operations is often so significant that businesses never move their DLP out of monitoring mode. Attend our session to learn: • Why traditional approaches to data security have failed • How AI and context are revolutionizing data security • Where to maximize the value of your existing security investments • What you can do to secure your Gen AI rollouts With the right strategy and technology, you can transform your data from a liability to a well-managed asset.

The AI revolution is fundamentally transforming cybersecurity, while the future of networking evolves toward Hybrid Full Mesh—integrating 5G, WiFi, Ethernet, Fiber, and other network infrastructures. This presentation examines how AI is accelerating cyber threats: attack costs are skyrocketing, incidents surging 50% year-over-year, and ransomware development compressed from nine days to mere minutes*. We’ll explore why Hybrid SASE (not cloud-only) forms the core of an effective hybrid full-mesh security architecture and how organizations can respond when the rate of change and complexity outpace their capabilities. Most importantly, we’ll demonstrate why security isn’t just a feature but the essential foundation of operations in this new era of hyperconnected vulnerability.

Key Topics:

• Ransomware, phishing, and advanced persistent threats (APTs).
• Optimizing operations and improving security through Orchestration and Automation.
• Understanding the impact of AI and IoT on security vulnerabilities.

Why It Matters:
Staying informed about the latest threats helps leaders anticipate and prepare for risks that can disrupt operations.