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Agenda

Government Cybersecurity Showcase Alberta 2025

 Thursday, 09 Oct 2025
 9:00AM - 4:00PM MT

Sessions

8:00AM

Registration & Networking

8:00 AM - 8:50 AM (50 mins)

8:50AM

Welcome from Public Sector Network

8:50 AM - 9:00 AM (10 mins)

Room 109

Andrew Cowan
Vice President, Partner Relations, Public Sector Network
9:00AM
Industry Insights

Welcome from the Chair

9:00 AM - 9:10 AM (10 mins)

Room 109

Ashley Anderson
DSM, Public Sector Western Canada, Palo Alto Networks
Tony Olsen
Canada Critical Infrastructure Lead, Palo Alto
9:10AM
Keynote

Welcome Address: Keep Your Eye on the Ball: The Blind Spots of Cybersecurity

9:10 AM - 9:30 AM (20 mins)

Room 109

Chief Information Security Officer and Assistant Deputy Minister for Cybersecurity, Government of Alberta

Most cyber teams focus heavily on production environments—yet attackers are increasingly exploiting overlooked vulnerabilities in third-party systems, legacy infrastructure, and test environments. This session will help you apply new approaches on how you can better secure hidden risk areas across your entire ecosystem.

9:30AM
Keynote

How to Leverage AI with Clean Data While Ensuring Security

9:30 AM - 9:50 AM (20 mins)

Room 109

Michelle Desnoyers
Corporate Information Security Officer & Director, IT Security & Risk Management, Alberta Pensions Services Corporation

AI-driven decision-making is only as strong as the data behind it. Without clean, high-quality data, organizations risk inefficiencies, biases, and security vulnerabilities. This session will equip you with the strategies to maintain data integrity, harness AI effectively, and safeguard sensitive information.

  • Improve data quality to enhance AI-driven insights and operational efficiency
  • Leverage AI to automate processes while minimizing risks and errors
  • Strengthen cybersecurity measures to protect data from emerging threats
  • Optimize governance strategies to ensure compliance and ethical AI use
9:50AM
Industry Insights

The Dark Web & AI: A New Era of Cyber Threats

9:50 AM - 10:10 AM (20 mins)

Room 109

Hank “The Hacker” Fordham
Cybersecurity Specialist, X10 Technologies
David Masson
VP, Field CISO, Darktrace
10:10AM
Panel Discussion

Leveraging Threat Intelligence to Strengthen Cyber Defenses

10:10 AM - 10:40 AM (30 mins)

Room 109

Michael Spaling
Fellow, Future Government Institute - PSN
Liam Ryan
Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst, Ministry of Technology and Innovation, Government of Alberta
Christopher Scutchings
Team Lead Cyber Security Operations, City of Calgary
Emily Lee
Consultant, Optiv
Ashley Anderson Moderator
DSM, Public Sector Western Canada, Palo Alto Networks

With cyber threats evolving rapidly, organizations need real-time intelligence to anticipate and mitigate risks. Effective threat intelligence enables proactive defense strategies, reducing vulnerabilities and strengthening overall security posture. This session will equip you with the tools to collect, analyze, and act on threat intelligence to safeguard your organization.

  • Improve threat detection by integrating real-time intelligence into security operations
  • Strengthen incident response by identifying and neutralizing threats before they escalate
  • Leverage automation and AI to enhance threat analysis and decision-making
  • Strengthen collaboration between teams to share intelligence and build a resilient security strategy"

10:40AM

Morning Tea Break

10:40 AM - 11:20 AM (40 mins)

Expo Room 101 to 104

10:50AM
Tech Talk

Copilot Unplugged: From Chat to Enterprise AI

10:50 AM - 11:05 AM (15 mins)

Expo Room 101 to 104

Juliana Nunez Zuniga
Microsoft Solutions Sales Specialist, Insight Canada

Copilot Chat vs. M365 Copilot

  • Copilot Chat offers a free, secure web-based AI chat experience.
  • M365 Copilot provides deeper integration with Microsoft 365 apps and Graph data for personalized assistance

Agentic AI Capabilities

  • Users can build, manage, and pin agents.
  • Agents grounded on tenant Graph or third-party data are metered and billed separately

Enterprise Readiness & Security

  • Copilot Chat includes enterprise-grade data protection and IT admin controls.
  • Semantic Index and Microsoft Graph are essential for grounding responses securely

Use Cases & Demos

  • Real-world demos show how Copilot Chat supports sales, customer service, and IT operations.
  • Examples include summarizing meetings, generating code, and visualizing data with Code Interpreter

Insight's Copilot Adoption Services

11:10AM
Tech Talk

Harnessing Audio-Video Automation for Enhanced Public Safety Operations

11:10 AM - 11:25 AM (15 mins)

Expo Room 101 to 104

11:20AM
Keynote

Failing Fast and Staying Safe: Guardrails for Accelerating AI Implementation

11:20 AM - 11:40 AM (20 mins)

Room 109

Daniel Cherrington
Manager, AI Safety & Security, Ministry of Technology and Innovation

AI innovation moves fast, but without the right safeguards, rapid implementation can lead to costly mistakes. Organizations must strike a balance between agility and risk management to scale AI effectively. This session will provide you with strategies to experiment quickly, learn from failures, and deploy AI responsibly.

  • Create governance frameworks that foster innovation and manage risks effectively
  • Improve AI testing and validation processes to identify failures early
  • Strengthen cross-functional collaboration to align AI initiatives with organizational goals
  • Strengthen risk management strategies to ensure responsible and scalable AI adoption
11:40AM
Industry Insights

The Future of Your Workforce is Here – And It's Not What You Think

11:40 AM - 12:00 PM (20 mins)

Room 109

Yiannis Vassiliades
CISO in Residence, Zscaler

Your business is about to welcome a new kind of employee. Are you ready?
While your competitors debate whether AI will replace jobs, smart leaders are asking: How do we integrate AI as trusted colleagues, not just tools? This isn't automation. This is *partnership with artificial intelligence* that never sleeps, never calls in sick, and might just revolutionize how your teams operate.

What You'll Discover Why This Matters NOW:

  • AI is already in your workforce, making decisions and taking actions
  • Companies mastering AI integration today will dominate tomorrow
  • Your frameworks need fundamental updates Practical Solutions You Can Implement
  • AIgent Identity Systems: Trusted AI colleagues with persistent identities and accountability
  • Trust Architecture: Confidence in AI decisions when traditional management doesn't apply
  • Strategic Alignment: Keeping AI motivated toward your business goals

The Bottom Line: Organizations that master this first win. Those that don't compete with yesterday's playbook in tomorrow's game

12:00PM
Keynote

Ensuring Cybersecurity Impact: Telling the Cybersecurity Story That Stakeholders Need to Hear

12:00 PM - 12:20 PM (20 mins)

Room 109

Rachel Hayward
Executive Director, CyberAlberta

CyberAlberta's team of technical experts excels in identifying and mitigating cyber threats. However, translating this technical prowess into messages that resonate with non-technical stakeholders can be a challenge. Recognizing the critical need for effective communication, CyberAlberta has worked to develop a compliance framework to assist technical and non-technical audiences to understand the risks and threats to a given environment.

This session will explore the journey of transforming complex cybersecurity information into compelling narratives that drive stakeholder engagement and action.

  • Examine the development and impact of CyberAlberta's Compliance Framework
  • Understand the challenges faced when conveying technical information to non-technical audiences​
  • Learn strategies to craft messages that highlight the significance of cybersecurity compliance
  • Discover methods to foster collaboration between technical teams and decision-makers​
  • Gain insights into building a culture that elevates the visibility and support for cybersecurity efforts
12:20PM
Panel Discussion

Weighing the Risks and Benefits of a Single IT Service Provider

12:20 PM - 12:50 PM (30 mins)

Room 109

Richard Henderson
Executive Director and Chief Information Security Officer, Alberta Health Services
Barb Carra
President and CEO, Cybera
Chief Information Security Officer and Assistant Deputy Minister for Cybersecurity, Government of Alberta
Heather Black Moderator
Regional Vice President, Canadian Public Sector, Palo Alto Networks

Choosing a single IT service provider can streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and reduce complexity—but it also introduces potential risks, such as vendor lock-in and limited flexibility. Organizations must carefully evaluate the trade-offs to ensure long-term resilience and scalability. This session will help you assess the strategic, financial, and operational impacts of consolidating IT services under one provider.

  • Improve efficiency by simplifying vendor management and streamlining IT operations
  • Assess risks such as vendor lock-in, service disruptions, and evolving business needs
  • Strengthen negotiation strategies to secure favorable terms and long-term flexibility
  • Streamline IT governance to maintain control, compliance, and adaptability

12:50PM

Lunch Break

12:50 PM - 1:50 PM (60 mins)

Expo Room 101 to 104

1:20PM
Tech Talk

Connecting the Dots: Accelerating Public Sector Intelligence with Integrated Analytics

1:20 PM - 1:35 PM (15 mins)

Walie Aktary
Customer Solution Lead, SAS

Public sector organizations face growing complexity in understanding relationships across diverse data sources/existing data models—from structured records to unstructured narratives. This session showcases how an end-to-end analytics platform, SAS Viya, can support investigations, research, and decision-making by revealing hidden connections and enabling scalable, repeatable workflows.

Unify and Visualize Diverse Data: Explore how dashboards and visual tools help uncover patterns across structured data (e.g., claims, transactions) and unstructured sources (e.g., inspection reports, case notes).

Extract and Resolve Key Entities: Use natural language processing to identify and link people, locations, accounts, and other entities across disparate datasets, enabling a more complete view of subjects and networks.

Assess Risk and Prioritize Action: Apply rules and predictive models to evaluate which entities or networks warrant further investigation, supporting triage and resource allocation.

Automate and Operationalize Investigative Workflows: Demonstrate how workflow tools streamline alert generation, case creation, and research activities across public sector domains —whether analyzing reports, monitoring compliance, or uncovering complex relationships across data sources.

1:50PM
Roundtables

Interactive Roundtables

1:50 PM - 2:50 PM (60 mins)

Room 109

  1. AI + Automation: The Engine Driving a Fast, Resilient Public Sector Facilitated by: Tony Olsen Canada Critical Infrastructure Lead, Palo Alto Networks & Heather Black RVP, Public Sector Canada, Palo Alto Networks
  2. Network visibility - Deep packet inspection and the crux of implementation Facilitated by: Conor Anwyll, Account Executive, Darktrace & Jordan Catudal, Account Executive, X10 Technologies
  3. AI Frontier: Harnessing GenAI and Delivering Trustworthy Public Service Delivery Facilitated by: Yiannis Vassiliades, CISO in Residence, Zscaler
  4. What's even real anymore?  Let's discuss how to protect public facing applications from online and AI based threats. Facilitated by: Phillip Solakov, Director, Client Advisory, Optiv
  5. The Emerging Cyber Threats from Quantum Computing Facilitated by: Darryl Wenger, Major Accounts Manager, Fortinet
2:50PM
Keynote

Aligning Cybersecurity with Emerging Technologies for Resilient Protection

2:50 PM - 3:10 PM (20 mins)

Room 109

Richard Henderson
Executive Director and Chief Information Security Officer, Alberta Health Services

As governments adopt AI, IoT, and cloud-based platforms, the cybersecurity landscape is growing more complex—and more critical. Aligning protection strategies with innovation is no longer optional; it’s essential for building trust and resilience.

This session will show how you can future-proof your security posture by integrating cyber priorities early in your tech adoption lifecycle, and applying new approaches on how you can stay ahead of evolving threats.

  • Adapt cybersecurity strategies to keep pace with AI, IoT, and cloud adoption
  • Increase resilience by embedding cyber risk mitigation into digital transformation
  • Improve decision-making by aligning security and innovation roadmaps
  • Amplify protection with threat intelligence, automation, and zero trust models
3:10PM
Panel Discussion

Building Resilience: Strategies for Combating Emerging Cyber Threats in the Public Sector

3:10 PM - 3:40 PM (30 mins)

Room 109

Daniel Pedersen
Director, Corporate Information Security Office, City of Edmonton
Chief Executive Officer, Code for Canada
Daniel Cherrington
Manager, AI Safety & Security, Ministry of Technology and Innovation
Ashley Anderson Moderator
DSM, Public Sector Western Canada, Palo Alto Networks

As cyber threats grow in sophistication, public sector organizations must strengthen their defenses while ensuring operational continuity. Proactive strategies, advanced threat intelligence, and cross-agency collaboration are essential to safeguarding critical infrastructure and sensitive data. This session will provide you with the tools to anticipate, mitigate, and respond to evolving cyber risks.

  • Improve threat detection and response by leveraging real-time intelligence and AI-driven security tools
  • Strengthen cybersecurity frameworks to align with evolving regulatory and compliance requirements
  • Understanding all incident response strategies to minimize disruption and accelerate recovery
  • Enhance cross-agency collaboration to share intelligence and build a unified defense strategy"

3:40PM

Closing Remarks

3:40 PM - 3:50 PM (10 mins)

Room 109

Ashley Anderson
DSM, Public Sector Western Canada, Palo Alto Networks
3:50PM

Networking Reception

3:50 PM - 4:50 PM (60 mins)

Expo Room 101 to 104

Questions?

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