Archives: Seminar

Architecting the New SD-WAN Edge for the Cloud-first Enterprise

  Presented by Silver Peak

Adoption of cloud services has driven enterprises to re-think WAN architecture. Architectures based on traditional, manually-programmed routers can’t keep pace. A business-driven SD-WAN can provide secure direct connections from the branch to SaaS/IaaS across the internet, significantly increasing application performance resulting in a superior end-user QoEx (Quality of Experience). By integrating SD-WAN, WAN optimization, routing and security in a single unified platform, enterprises can simplify branch WAN edge architecture, accelerating time to value and dramatically reducing operational costs. From a centralized SD-WAN orchestrator, application priorities and QoS and security policies may be configured and assigned to automate traffic handling across the WAN. A single mouse click distributes SD-WAN configuration parameters to all sites, improving operational efficiency and minimizing the potential for human errors that can negatively impact application availability and enterprise security. This session will describe why SD-WAN adoption continues at a breakneck pace because of the user productivity, agility and cost savings benefits that a business-driven SD-WAN delivers.

The Oprah Effect: Giving Away Free Cars To All Attendees

  Presented by Randy Stone • Director, Stroz Friedberg DFIR

How do you solve a crime when you have thousands of international witnesses that speak dozens of languages and each hold only tiny pieces of the puzzle? All the while, each hour that passes, could be costing an organization millions? This is the dilemma that IT security professionals face. A lot of lip service is given to IT security and incident response, but how much of your preparation is theory and how well practiced are you for when something happens? Join Randy Stone for a no-holds-barred discussion on the dos and don’ts of incident response, diving into his experience, first in law enforcement forensics and later as an incident response professional. Discover actionable ways to respond to incidents and avoid being blindsided should disaster strike.

Randy is a Director with the Stroz Friedberg Incident Response Team, investigating and managing intrusion and malware investigations worldwide. As a consultant for corporate Incident Response, Randy has had the opportunity to apply his forensic and security skills in the corporate environment for clients of Stroz Friedberg, Dell SecureWorks and IBM. Randy’s broad background in investigative techniques has helped him successfully complete difficult investigations in numerous engagements worldwide, including intrusions, malware infections, enterprise-wide ransomware and nation-state attacks.

Prior to his current work of corporate Incident Response, Randy was a police officer with the Wichita (Kansas) Police Department for 23 years, 12 of which were spent as a Detective in computer forensics and computer crime investigations. Randy was an original member of the Forensic Computer Crime Unit (FCCU) and designed the original team structure and mission. During his law enforcement career, he conducted computer forensic examinations for hundreds of cases including capital murder, the BTK serial killer, child exploitation, cyber stalking, financial crimes and numerous other cases. He has received awards from the FBI and the High Technology Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA) for his computer forensic investigations and has testified in Federal and State courts as a fact and expert witness.

Want to Advance Your Career? Start with Your Community

  Moderated by INTERFACE Kansas City Advisory Council

The old adage says that “it takes a village” and this is true, even for your career. Are you taking advantage of the community around you? Kansas City’s IT community is growing larger by the day with multiple associations/groups leading the way. With so many to choose from, how do you know what group is right for you? Join us for a conversation about the IT associations that make up the community. Discover what opportunities you may be missing, how you can be a part of KC’s IT community, and find new ways to grow as a professional.

Moderator:

  • Jeffery Wheat • Board Member; InfraGard

Panelists:

  • Donna Gomez • Security Risk and Compliance Analyst; Johnson County Government/President; ISACA Greater Kansas City Chapter
  • Raj Bhatia • VP of Marketing; Project Management Institute (PMI)
  • Naeem Babri • President; Information Systems Security Association (ISSA)
  • Marc Vasquez • President; International Association of Security Awareness Professional (IASAP)
  • Cheryl Cooper • Founder and President; Women in Security Mentors (WinS)

Welcome to the New Age of Converged Data Protection

  Presented by StorageCraft

Managing storage continues to be complex, and often expensive. Something needs to change, and it certainly won’t be a dramatic increase in staffing. Fortunately, object storage is the answer. By eliminating the use of legacy RAID, object storage, can be the foundation for a scale-out converged storage solution that solves both data protection and primary storage challenges. Want to recover a multi-TB VM in less than a second? No problem. Want to protect files from ransomware? No problem. Need an enterprise file serving, archiving, or virtual server storage solution? No Problem. Attend this session to learn how object storage is changing the landscape for IT admin and the technology of the future.

DoD Supply Chain Security: Stealing Stealth and the Nuclear Option

  Presented by Jeffrey L. Westeman • CSCP; VP of Programs, Air Capital Chapter of AFCEA

The integrated supply chains we rely upon to manufacture stealth aircraft, build submarines, and design new weapon platforms to protect our country are at risk from threat actors who exploit the connectivity of our global distribution systems to steal intellectual property, allowing nation states to modernize their economies, advance their military capabilities, and weaken U.S. global influence. We’ll review the history and reasoning behind the contractual requirements for cyber security at defense contractors as detailed in Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.204-7012, and outline steps your organization must take to adequately safeguard controlled, unclassified information (CUI) as specified by NIST800-171, “Protecting CUI in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations”. We’ll also discuss MITRE’s 2018 “Deliver Uncompromised” report and how the recommendations will reshape future defense acquisitions.

The presenter for this workshop is Jeffrey Westeman, CSCP, VP of Programs for Air Capital Chapter of AFCEA. Mr. Westeman has over 35 years of experience in information technology, security operations, supply chain management, and manufacturing. He has presented or provided training for various organizations, including Boeing Defense, Boeing Commercial, Spirit AeroSystems, Sikorsky, Cessna, Triumph Group, INFOR, APICS, Institute of Internal Auditors Association (IIA), and Wichita State University.

Adapting to Fight Back: How Cyber AI Neutralizes Never-Before-Seen Threats

  Presented by Darktrace

In a world that is increasingly digital, cyber-attack has become the most significant risk confronting today’s businesses, smart cities, and critical infrastructure. Online crime cost the world more than half a trillion dollars last year, while recent attacks have managed to influence the U.S. presidential election and disrupt the Ukrainian power supply. This troubling state of affairs is the product of several fundamental weaknesses with the traditional approach to cyber defense, which relies on predefining what threats look like at a time when criminals launch never-before-seen attacks daily. Moreover, these attacks increasingly strike at machine-speed, preventing security professionals from responding before their damage is done.

Exploitation of IT Vulnerabilities is Escalating

  Presented by Quest Software

Cybercriminals are savvier than ever. They understand that IT complexities create serious vulnerabilities, and these criminals are continually developing new ways to breach your organization’s boundaries. That is why a proactive, unified endpoint management (UEM) strategy should be part of your organization’s core business strategy.

Active Directory Security: Early Stage Attack Activities to Watch For

  Presented by STEALTHbits Technologies

Attackers have demonstrated a consistent and ongoing ability to obtain access to workstations inside the network boundary through phishing and other web and email attacks. From here, attackers set their sights on gaining control of Active Directory as a means to an end; compromising Active Directory is an easy way to gain access to all critical corporate data and resources. Darin will discuss two early stage attack activities: LDAP reconnaissance and Password Spraying – that allow attackers to move laterally inside your AD environment. Detection strategies and mitigation steps will also be explained.

IT vs IS: How to Make Pineapples Work on a Pizza

  Presented by INTERFACE Kansas City Advisory Council

As technology becomes increasingly important to an organization’s success, the number of roles in the field have increased, often creating blurry distinctions between responsibilities. These gray lines can cause conflict within the company when they aren’t properly managed. Join the Advisory Council as we discuss the relationship between IT and IS (Info Sec), where they overlap, where they differ and how to get the most out of working together without stepping on people’s toes.

Moderator:

  • Keith Shaw • President; ISC2

Panelists:

  • Rich Graham • Senior Manager, Cybersecurity & Privacy; PwC
  • Eric Baer • Chief, Information Technology Operations; USDA Risk Management Agency
  • Rick Derks • Chief Security Officer; FCS Financial
  • Britney Hommertzheim • Director of Information Security; AMC Theaters

Hyperconverged Infrastructure: Do More with Less

  Presented by Scale Computing

Learn how organizations are doing more IT with less infrastructure and less complexity using hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI). The hyperconverged experts will discuss why virtualization doesn’t need to be complex, inefficient, or costly when you adopt a modern, innovative architecture. The simplicity, scalability, and high availability of a turn-key infrastructure doesn’t just lower costs, it frees up your own IT experts to work on new projects they haven’t had time for in the past.