Archives: Seminar

[1 CPE] Do You Know What You Don’t Know and Why Don’t You Know It

  Presented by Ronald Watters • Cybersecurity Advisor, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

The Cybersecurity landscape changes daily. Keeping up with the latest threats, solutions, and strategies always keeps technology professionals busy. Part of any good cybersecurity strategy is to be as prepared as possible with an incident response plan. Your Cyber Resilience can be improved by better planning and utilizing all possible resources.

In this session, we will discuss the unknown and less thought-about areas of Cybersecurity and Resilience. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) provides free resources to companies and agencies of all sizes. Join us to learn about the tools available to you.

Ron serves as the Region 10 Private Sector Cybersecurity Advisor for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Based in Seattle, WA, he supports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mission of strengthening the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

His program coordinates cyber preparedness, risk mitigation, and incident response, and provides cyber security resources, including assessments, to the nation’s sixteen critical infrastructure sectors and state, local, tribal, and territorial government entities.

Prior to joining DHS, Ron served 27 years with the U.S. Navy and Naval Reserve as a Submarine Sonar Technician and Diver. Finding not much use for a Submarine Sonar Technician in the Surface reserve Ron utilized his talents as an Intelligence Analyst and was utilized accordingly. Ron retired from the US Navy in 2007. During his active duty, Ron completed his bachelor’s degree in public administration with Criminal Justice emphasis (Cum Laude). He completed his two master’s degrees in education (School Administration and Secondary Education) at Loyola Marymount University. He continued his education and achieved certification as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Microsoft Certified Trainer, he was hired as the Computer Science Department Chairman at Chaminade College Preparatory High School in West Hills, CA until he was recalled to Active duty following 9/11. Upon his demobilization, he was offered a position as the Deputy, Information Systems Management Officer with the 4th Marine Corps recruiting District in New Cumberland, PA. He rose to the position of S-6 before leaving in 2009 to take a position as the Chief of the Information Assurance Division, Network Enterprise Center Ft Irwin, CA. Ron remained in that position until he left to become the Branch Manager of the Cybersecurity Branch of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in March 2016. Ron interviewed and was hired as the Region X Cybersecurity advisor in June of 2017 and has filled that position presently.

Ron’s computer certifications are numerous including Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Certified Novell Administrator (CNA), GIAC Security Leadership Certification (GSLC), CompTIA Security+ CE, and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). In addition to the professional certifications, Ron has been awarded numerous Commander’s Coins for excellence and received Two Commander’s Awards for his work at Fort Irwin.

[1 CPE] Panel: Retaining Your IT Staff in Seattle, How it Can Be Done!

  Presented by INTERFACE Advisory Council

“The other company is offering higher wages. I get to work remotely as much as I want and get a four-day workweek. Sorry, but I must take it.” Have you heard this just a few times? So many IT hiring managers are having to find creative ways to keep staff members in-house. While budgets and major company overhauls can’t always be achieved, some methods can help. 

Join the INTERFACE Advisory Council for an open conversation on how to keep your local IT staff intact. This panel features local IT hiring managers and leaders dealing with these challenges in their shops. Bring your questions as there will be an opportunity to get advice on your specific needs. 

Moderator: Tony North, Sr Manager of IT Services, King County, Washington

Panelists:

  • Yasmin Karimli, Vice President, Strategic Transformation, T-Mobile
  • Brian Moore, Director, Information Technology, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Dept
  • Tony Sheehan, Director, Information Services, Seattle Convention Center
  • Artem Zakharchenko, Senior Vice President, Robert Half

[1 CPE] Security Trends & Predictions

  Presented by Peter Ingebrigtsen, Sr Technical Marketing Manager • Arctic Wolf

In a dynamic cybersecurity landscape and fast-paced market, organizations grapple with ever-changing threats. Uncertainty abounds as they seek to benchmark themselves against their peers and prioritize initiatives. Join Arctic Wolf to explore key areas organizations are focusing on, top threat concerns, and responses by established organizations to emerging threats. Leveraging Arctic Wolf research, we’ll further present five critical security predictions for the next 12 months.

[1 CPE] Exploring the Anatomy of Modern-Day Breaches

  Presented by Tim Medin, CEO • Red Siege

Join this presentation for a comprehensive overview of modern cybersecurity threats and how breaches occur. We will highlight the various methods used by cybercriminals, including phishing, social engineering, and ransomware attacks, and emphasize the importance of identifying and addressing vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. Throughout the presentation, we’ll discuss the importance of a proactive approach to cybersecurity, including regular security assessments, penetration testing, and vulnerability scanning, as well as education and training for employees to recognize and report suspicious activity. There are a lot of vulnerabilities in the wild, and IT administrators and security professionals often focus on the wrong issues because they are easier to monitor or measure. By the end of the presentation, you will have gained valuable insights into the latest cybersecurity threats and how to protect against them.

[1 CPE] The SMB’s Playbook for Cybersecurity in 2024

  Presented by BlackPoint IT Services

The SMB’s Playbook for Cybersecurity in 2024 speaking session offers a concise yet comprehensive overview of the cybersecurity landscape tailored for small and medium-sized businesses. This presentation traverses the evolution of digital threats, providing insights into past trends and current challenges while forecasting future risks. It emphasizes practical strategies for proactive defense and effective incident response. Attendees will learn about the latest advancements in cybersecurity, gain knowledge on managing cyber incidents, and understand the importance of building a cybersecurity-aware culture. This session is vital for SMBs seeking to enhance their digital resilience against the backdrop of an ever-evolving cyber threat environment.

Speakers:

Andrew Hutchison, Director of Service Delivery at BlackPoint IT Services

Sean Banahan, Director of US Channel Sales at WatchGuard

[1 CPE] The Most Important Shift for Cybersecurity in a Generation

  Presented by Steve Riley, Field CTO • Netskope

We live in a world where everything is hybrid and the blend between personal, corporate, private, and public is ever-changing and presents us with a host of new challenges. This has increased and complicated the attack surface and the pressure to converge tools and do “more with less” is at peak levels. We must meet this watershed moment with the right team, plans, and technology.

Join this interactive session to learn:

  • How to build an effective plan for change without adding to the chaos
  • What consolidation approaches save money without sacrificing security
  • Use cases that deliver immediate value and efficiency while improving user experience

Steve Riley is a Field CTO at Netskope. Having worked at the intersection of cloud and security for pretty much as long as that’s been an actual topic, Steve offers that perspective to field and executive engagements and also supports long-term technology strategy and works with key industry influencers. A widely renowned expert speaker, author, researcher, and analyst, Steve came to Netskope from Gartner, where for five years he maintained a collection of cloud security research that included the Magic Quadrant for Cloud Access Security Brokers and the Market Guide for Zero Trust Network Access. Before Gartner, Steve spent four years as Deputy CTO of Riverbed Technology and held various security strategy and technical program management roles at Amazon Web Services for two years and at Microsoft for eleven years. Steve’s interest in security began all the way back in 1995 when he convinced his then-employer that it would be a good idea to install a firewall on their brand-new internet connection.

[1 CPE] How AI Can Think Like an Attacker

  Presented by Darktrace

In the face of skyrocketing cyber risk, detecting and responding to attacks is no longer enough. Organizations must take proactive steps to prevent threats before they happen and to recover if compromised. In this session, Darktrace unveil an ambitious new approach to security, with core engines powering AI technologies to prevent, detect, respond, and ultimately heal from attacks across all areas of their digital environment. Together, these engines combine to strengthen organizations’ security posture in a virtuous AI feedback ‘loop,’ which provides powerful end-to-end, bespoke, and self-learning solutions unique to each organization.

[1 CPE] Cyber Audibles: Making the Most of Your Digital Defense

  Presented by Jamion Aden, Solutions Architect • IP Pathways

In the realm of cybersecurity, no conventional game plan, Business Continuity Plan, or tabletop exercise can fully anticipate and mitigate the challenges posed by cyber threats. Join us as we navigate through real-world encounters, and ‘calling the play at the line,’ when ransomware becomes the opposing force.

Our Solutions Architect, Jamion Aden, leverages over 18 years of comprehensive industry experience to lead this engaging and interactive presentation. In doing so, we aim to equip you with the necessary insights and strategies essential to effective event preparedness, as well as furnish your security toolkit with the necessary tools for bolstering your organization’s cyber defenses.

[1 CPE] Learning from the IT Titans of Omaha & Lessons from the Recent Past

  Presented by Scott Davis, CDW Enterprise Architecture Team Field CTO & former Hitachi Field CTO  • Hitachi Vantara & CDW

You deserve a raise. Scratch that, you deserve a vacation and a raise. As an IT Titan, you were immeasurable in keeping your company afloat when the world halted in 2020 and threw all your initiatives into chaos. As an IT Titan, you persevered when all your priorities shifted to supporting every employee remotely and transforming your business into running 24/7 during the WFH mandate, while still caring for your loved ones. You achieved migrating your organization into the cloud, extending your security firewalls into the homes of your workforce, keeping stringent compliance requirements, and automating workflows to continue meeting stretch goals with limited staff. Whew!

As you reflect on your accomplishments, what did you learn? And what could you have done differently that will be top of mind to adapt to the woes of today, including perhaps mounting technical debt, a looming recession, an upcoming election year, ongoing supply chain issues, and urgent sustainability efforts?

  • In the year of efficiency, how can businesses leverage cloud repatriation efforts and containerization to cut ballooning cloud costs?
  • As you continue layering security tool after security tool, how can you implement cyber resiliency and drastically limit your risk from attackers?
  • With the looming recession and a hiring freeze, how can IT departments meet stretch goals by leveraging adaptive automation technologies, such as ChatGPT? And how can compliance teams regulate these new tools to ensure data privacy while maintaining brand equity?
  • How can you help accelerate your organization’s timeline for becoming carbon net-zero and ditch reusable straws and $0.10 plastic bags?

Join us as we review the top IT trends for 2023/2024 with CDW’s Scott Davis, Strategist and Former Hitachi Field CTO. As a former CTO and COO, Scott brings a unique perspective in guiding programs for organizational change. He brings his executive experience to help identify customer goals and challenges that disrupt the status quo to enable a better digital transformation roadmap leveraging the value of data, the IoT, and AI to achieve new business insights faster.

[1 CPE] Selecting an MDR Vendor for Your Organization

  Presented by Tim Evans, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President • Adlumin

Join Adlumin’s EVP, Tim Evans, as he provides guidance on selecting the right Managed Detection and Response (MDR) vendor for your organization. Evans will cover key considerations such as assessing your organization’s security needs, evaluating the vendor’s capabilities and expertise, and ensuring alignment with your organization’s goals and objectives. Attendees will gain insights into the critical factors to consider when choosing an MDR vendor to enhance their organization’s cybersecurity posture.