Topic: Artificial Intelligence

Seminar Topics

[1 CPE] When Unchecked Innovation Becomes Institutional Risk: The Leadership Moment for AI

  Presented by Mac Avancena, Field CISO • Check Point Software

AI adoption is accelerating, but most organizations are not ready.

While investment surges, the majority of AI initiatives fail to scale, deliver value, or operate securely. The challenge isn’t the technology; it’s the inability to align AI with governance, financial realities, and measurable business outcomes.

In this session, Mac Avancena cuts through the hype to expose the real gap between AI ambition and execution. Learn why most AI programs stall, which organizations are actually succeeding, and how leaders can fund, secure, and scale AI in constrained environments.

This session delivers a clear framework to:

  • Connect AI initiatives to business value and funding priorities
  • Close the gap between innovation and governance
  • Manage risk across AI, identity, and data
  • Turn AI from experimental spend into a strategic advantage

AI won’t wait. The question is whether your organization can keep up, securely and profitably.

[1 CPE] Latest Data Breaches, Quantum Computing, External Key Management in the Cloud

  Presented by Steven Gautier, Principal Solutions Architect • Thales

Welcome to our session on modern data threats and protection strategies. As cyber risks evolve, securing sensitive information is more critical than ever. We’ll explore how encryption and key management can help protect your most valuable assets, especially in cloud environments.

We’ll highlight the benefits of external key management, offering greater control and compliance. Additionally, we’ll touch on the growing impact of quantum computing—and why it’s vital to start preparing now.

Join us to discover the latest advancements in data security and learn how to stay ahead of emerging threats.

[1 CPE] From Known-Bad to Known-Normal: The Future of Threat Detection

  Presented by Patricia Titus, Field CISO • Abnormal

As email-based threats continue to evolve in speed and sophistication, traditional “known-bad” detection methods are no longer enough to protect modern organizations. This session explores the shift toward a “known-normal” security model, where behavioral AI establishes a dynamic baseline of trusted activity to identify anomalies, detect emerging threats, and stop attacks before they escalate.

Designed for executive and security leaders, this presentation will examine how behavioral-based threat detection strengthens resilience against advanced phishing, business email compromise, and AI-driven attacks. Attendees will leave with practical guidance for evaluating their current email security stack, adopting modern AI-powered defenses, and implementing key strategies to stay ahead of today’s rapidly changing threat landscape.

[1 CPE] From Liability to Asset: Securing Unstructured Data at Scale in the Era of AI

  Presented by Rubrik

Unstructured data is the lifeblood of the modern organization, yet its sheer volume often outpaces the strategies meant to protect it. As this data becomes the fuel for future AI initiatives and business intelligence, the “”old way”” of managing NAS has become a primary point of failure.

In this session, we’ll dive into how Rubrik NAS Cloud Direct (NCD) redefines the protection of PB-scale file systems. We will explore a modern architectural approach that provides the speed, visibility, and cloud-native flexibility required to turn massive data sets into resilient assets. Whether you are preparing for an AI-driven future or simply struggling with the growth of your current footprint, this session will provide a blueprint for total unstructured data control.

[1 CPE] Doing Digital Transformations Better

  Presented by Brook Conner • CIS Instructor & PhD Candidate, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Every organization is trying to improve itself with new technology. Today, that technology is artificial intelligence. But it isn’t working nearly as well as it is supposed to. The problem isn’t the technology, or the hype around it. The problem is that large organizations undergoing change are complicated. There is no magic wand, no silver bullet, no hammer for the nail, that will work for everyone, not even AI. You need to describe what’s going on, past, present, and future. This description needs to include the technology, but also the people, the processes, the information, the world around you, everything. By incorporating diverse fields, including enterprise architecture, organizational behavior, programming language theory, semiotics, psychology, and more, even the most baroque organizations can be described, and their roadblocks and opportunities be revealed. See how, with examples both from past successes and from current trends.

Currently earning his PhD from the University of Hawaii, Conner is an experienced cross-industry CIO. He serves as a faculty instructor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His dissertation is tentatively titled “A system architecture approach to digital transformations.” It builds on both work experience and prior research and publications. Prior research included some of the earliest and formative papers on interactive 3D graphics, the relationship of programming language mechanisms to interactive systems, 3D user interface design, and a redesign of the undergraduate computer science curriculum.

Previous work includes five years at the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education, where his team replaced the Department’s core accounting system, modernized collaboration for all staff and students, and managed the educational technology needed to support distance learning during the COVID pandemic. Prior to that, Conner was the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Estee Lauder Companies, a Fortune 500 global retailer and manufacturer. He built the vulnerability management program for Morgan Stanley in response to a nation-state cyberattack, and re-architected core parts of the Bloomberg Terminal Service. Conner has an AB in art, an ScB in Math/Computer Science, and an MSc in Computer Science, all from Brown University. He is conversational in French and Hawaiian and enjoy stand-up paddling, role-playing games, video games, and wargaming.

[1 CPE] The AI Mutiny: Regaining Control of the Unauthorized Intelligence Explosion

  Presented by Palo Alto Networks

Your employees are already using AI—the only question is whether you’re invited to the party. Statistics show that nearly 60% of the workforce has bypassed IT to use AI tools, leading to a surge in data exposure and breach incidents. The “Shadow” has returned, and it’s smarter than ever. Join us for a look at the reality of Shadow AI in the enterprise. We’ll analyze real-world breach scenarios and provide a roadmap for reclaiming control. Learn how to empower your workforce with approved, secure AI alternatives that satisfy the need for speed without sacrificing security.

[1 CPE] From Liability to Asset: Securing Unstructured Data at Scale in the Era of AI

  Presented by Rubrik

Unstructured data is the lifeblood of the modern organization, yet its sheer volume often outpaces the strategies meant to protect it. As this data becomes the fuel for future AI initiatives and business intelligence, the “old way” of managing NAS has become a primary point of failure.

In this session, we’ll dive into how Rubrik NAS Cloud Direct (NCD) redefines the protection of PB-scale file systems. We will explore a modern architectural approach that provides the speed, visibility, and cloud-native flexibility required to turn massive data sets into resilient assets. Whether you are preparing for an AI-driven future or simply struggling with the growth of your current footprint, this session will provide a blueprint for total unstructured data control.

[1 CPE] The Enterprise Buyer’s Guide to AI Security Platforms

  Presented by Cato Networks

AI adoption is accelerating faster than security and governance, exposing organizations as sensitive data flows through copilots, LLM-powered apps, and agentic systems that legacy tools can’t properly protect. With a surge of AI security vendors entering the market, buying the right platform can be confusing. This presentation helps security leaders evaluate AI security solutions by clarifying the new risks AI creates, explaining the core pillars of AI security, and outlining how to compare platforms, ask the right questions, and avoid common buying mistakes.

[1 CPE] Securing AI Adoption: Protecting Data, Applications, and APIs in the Era of Generative AI

  Presented by Steven Gautier, Principal Solutions Architect • Thales

Organizations across every industry are rapidly adopting Generative AI, machine learning, and AI-powered applications to improve efficiency, automate processes, and unlock new insights from their data. However, these technologies also introduce new security challenges.

AI systems rely heavily on enterprise data, APIs, and interconnected applications, creating potential risks such as sensitive data exposure, prompt injection attacks, API abuse, and unauthorized access to AI models.

  • In this session, we will explore the security architecture required to safely deploy AI technologies within modern enterprise environments.
  • Attendees will learn practical strategies for protecting the data that powers AI models, the APIs that deliver AI services, and the applications that integrate AI into business workflows.
  • The session will also cover emerging AI-specific threats, governance considerations, and best practices organizations can use to maintain security, compliance, and trust while accelerating AI adoption.
  • Participants will leave with a clear framework for securely enabling AI innovation across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.

[1 CPE] The New Media Stack: How AI is Rewriting Cybersecurity Journalism

  Presented by Karissa Breen • Founder & Head of Cybersecurity Journalism, KBI.Media
 Keynote presentation brought to you by Business Improvement Group

The way cybersecurity professionals consume information is undergoing a fundamental shift. For years, the industry relied on a traditional media pipeline, like vendor announcements, PR outreach, journalist coverage, and static articles. But the rise of large language models and AI-powered discovery tools is dismantling that model.

Instead of searching for articles or relying on outdated reports, professionals ask AI systems to synthesize information, explain threats and summarize events. In this new environment, AI effectively becomes the front page of the internet, determining which voices, sources and insights are surfaced.

In this keynote, Karissa Breen (KB) examines how AI is reshaping cybersecurity journalism, the rise of “reference media” that LLMs trust and cite and why credibility and original reporting matter more than ever in the algorithmically mediated game. Drawing on her experience building a modern cybersecurity media platform, Breen will explore what the next generation of cyber media looks like and how organizations can adapt to a future where AI curates the conversation and this means for staying on top of cyber content and the retention of the knowledge.

Karissa Breen, more commonly known as KB, is crowned a LinkedIn ‘Top Voice in Technology’ and widely recognized across the global cybersecurity industry. A serial entrepreneur, she is the co-founder of the TMFE Group, a portfolio of cybersecurity-focused businesses spanning an industry-leading media platform, a specialist marketing agency, a content production studio, and the executive headhunting firm, MercSec. Now based in the United States, KB oversees US editorial operations and leads the expansion of the group’s media footprint across North America, while maintaining a strong presence in Australia, and the broader global market. She is the former Producer and Host of the streaming show 2Fa.tv, and currently sits at the helm of journalism for the group’s flagship arm, KBI.Media, the independent cybersecurity media company. As a cybersecurity investigative journalist, KB hosts her globally-renowned podcast, KBKast, where she interviews leading cybersecurity practitioners, CISOs, government officials including heads-of-state, and industry pioneers from around the world. The podcast has been downloaded in over 65 countries with more than 400,000 global downloads, influencing billions of dollars in cybersecurity budgets. KB is known for asking the hard questions and extracting real, commercially relevant insights. Her approach provides an uncolored, strategic lens on the evolving cybersecurity landscape, demystifying complex security issues and translating them into practical intelligence for executives navigating risk, regulation, and rapid technological change.