As threats evolve, public sector organizations must adopt proactive, adaptable cybersecurity strategies. Zero Trust Architectures and AI governance have emerged as essential tools for addressing today’s dynamic threat landscape while building resilience for the future.

This session will equip you with the strategies to integrate Zero Trust principles and responsible AI governance into your cybersecurity framework to stay ahead of emerging risks and protect your assets.

• Implement Zero Trust to minimize vulnerabilities across complex networks.
• Adapt your cybersecurity strategies to align with AI advancements and mitigate associated risks.
• Advance inter-agency collaboration to strengthen collective cyber defense efforts.
• Master actionable approaches to balance innovation with compliance and governance.

This session will explore the key tenets of security required for successful AI application adoption. As many organizations continue to both ideate and innovate and explore the use of AI in their environments its critical to understand the risks posed and the mitigations available to ensure that the necessary safeguards for responsible AI are in use. We will also then cover how innovations in the cyber technology space are “leveraging AI to secure AI”.  

As cyber threats continue to evolve, securing critical infrastructure and data in the public sector has never been more important. This session will explore practical strategies and innovative tools for bolstering cybersecurity defenses, with a focus on protecting public cloud environments and ensuring compliance with evolving regulations.

This session will provide actionable insights on how to:

• Address common challenges in securing public cloud environments and implement effective solutions.
• Leverage cost-effective tools to enhance cloud security without exceeding budgetary constraints.
• Align cloud security practices with regulatory compliance to mitigate risks and ensure operational integrity.
• Apply automation to streamline cloud security operations and achieve improved efficiency and outcomes.

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, education and government entities face unique challenges that can make understanding and reducing cyber risk difficult and time consuming.

We'll explore what some of these challenges are and how you can be more effective in reducing actual risk in the face of additional complexity and chaos. The discussion will cover strategies for mitigating identity exposure risks, managing vulnerabilities effectively, and leveraging cloud security solutions.

By understanding and addressing these specific concerns, educational institutions and government organizations can build resilient and secure digital infrastructures, safeguarding their mission-critical operations and the data they hold.

Roundtable 1: Solving for actionable security: Cybersecurity visions, strategies and tactics Facilitated by: Fadi Fadhill, SLED Field CTO, Palo Alto

Roundtable 2: Exposure Management: Managing cyber risk across an expansive, interconnected attack surface Facilitated by: Sonya Shearon Hefferan, Security Specialist, Tenable

Roundtable 3: The Threat Inside your Enterprise: How Legacy Apps expose government to cyber risks Facilitated by: Simon Woodford Director of Sales, SLED US Public Sector, OpenText

Roundtable 4: AI and Automation in Cybersecurity: A Game-Changer for Customers & Service Providers Facilitated by: Sanjay Manandhar, CEO, Zifino

Roundtable 5: Accelerating AI adoption to modernize Security Operations, Facilitated by: Lee Waskevich, Vice President, Security & Network Strategy, ePlus

As cyberwarfare becomes a pressing threat, state agencies must adopt proactive strategies to protect sensitive data, critical services, and public trust. By enhancing infrastructure, fostering collaboration, and leveraging partnerships, governments can build a resilient defense against cyberattacks.

This session will provide actionable steps to strengthen cybersecurity measures and improve readiness across state agencies.

• Learn how to enhance cybersecurity infrastructure to protect sensitive data and critical services
• Explore ways to improve inter-agency collaboration for a unified response to cyber incidents
• Discover key training programs to equip officials with the skills to manage cyber risks and threats
• Understand how partnerships with the private sector can bolster resilience and improve threat intelligence sharing

Beau Hurley

Chief Information Security Officer and Agency Risk Manager, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles

Stephanie Williams-Hayes

Chief Information Security Officer, Bureau of Strategic Governance, Information Security Office, Virginia State Police

Milos Manic

Director, VCU Cybersecurity Center

Sanjay Manandhar

CEO, Zifino

Fadi Fadhill Facilitator

SLED Field CTO, Palo Alto Networks