2024 Government Security Forum

10:00AM

Welcome & Opening Remarks

Speakers:
Matt Bromiley, Event Chairperson, SANS Institute

10:15AM

Session One | 2024 Zero Trust Top Threats

Speakers:
Matt Bromiley, Event Chairperson, SANS Institute
Ismael Valenzuela, Senior Instructor, SANS Institute

10:45AM

Session Two | Advancing Zero Trust Maturity in Hybrid Environments in 2024 Panel

In this roundtable we will explore the practical application of Zero Trust principles, focusing on how government agencies can enhance their cybersecurity posture. This session will provide a thorough discussion on methods to reduce attack surfaces and strengthen defenses using Zero Trust aligned initiatives. Participants will learn from case studies and established strategies to apply these principles effectively within their agencies, aiming to protect critical infrastructure from evolving cyber threats.

SANS Moderator:
Ismael Valenzuela, Senior Instructor, SANS Institute

Panelists:
Fatih Akar, Security Product Manager, VMRay
Frank Briguglio, Federal CTO, SailPoint

11:30AM

Session Three | Everyone is a Target: Steps to Achieve State and Local Compliance

Speaker:
Sean Plankey, Global Leader, Cybersecurity Software, WTW

12:00 PM

Break

12:15 PM

Session Four | Authorization and Identity Management Discussion

Protecting your user identities is no longer a maybe, it's now a must. Adversaries are constantly targeting user accounts, looking for easy entry vectors to gain trust and compromise an organization. Join us for this panel discussion on Authorization and Identity Management, featuring industry experts who will delve into strategies and technologies for securing access control and identity verification. Looking to recent federal government initiatives as inspiration, attendees will gain critical insights into how evolving cyber threats are forcing us to level up identity management and protection.

SANS Moderator:
Matt Bromiley, Event Chairperson, SANS Institute
Speaker:
David McNeely, Chief Technology Officer, Delinea

1:00PM

Session Five | Coming Soon! The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) - Do You Know Where to Start?

Are you working for an organization that delivers products or services to the Department of Defense (DoD), or to their primary contractors, or are you just interested in learning more about new career opportunities, then this is the session for you!
Join Melanie Kyle Gingrich, the Interim Executive Director of the Cybersecurity Assessor, and Instructor Certification Organization (CAICO) for a comprehensive overview of the DoD CMMC program and what it might mean to you and your organization.
Learn about the mission of the CMMC programs, the roles and responsibilities of the various ecosystem members, how you could utilize your cybersecurity technical knowledge and experience to participate in CMMC, where to keep current on resources and timelines for this critical program.

Speaker:
Melanie "Kyle" Gingrich, the Interim Executive Director of the Cybersecurity Assessor, and Instructor Certification Organization

1:30PM

Session Six | Supply Chain Security Panel

Many of the most damaging cybersecurity incidents today involve a supply chain partner. Software supply chains in particular have gotten more complex, and that complexity increases the likelihood of vulnerabilities. As government agencies have improved local security controls, attackers have often found the supply chain to be the most vulnerable point of entry.
Increased publicity around supply chain attacks have led to President Biden's Executive Orders mandating deadlines for improvements in federal software supply chain security, the release of NIST 800-161 guidance and the issue of final Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) compliance for contractors and suppliers. With increased risk and increased auditor attention to supply chain security, government agencies need to act to evaluate risks, weed out insecure supply chain partners and mitigate risks that cannot be avoided. This SANS panel will bring together experts in the field of supply chain security and CMMC certification to discuss what first movers have already done to reduce supply chain risk and what the next high priority steps need to be.

SANS Moderator:
John Pescatore, Director of Emerging Trends, SANS Institute

Panelists:
Mike Loefflad, Senior Director - Federal Systems Engineering, SentinelOne
Jacob Nix, Founder and CEO of RISCPoint
Conor Sherman, Chief Information Officer, Updater

2:15PM

Break

2:30PM

Session Seven | Harnessing AI for Advanced Threat Detection Panel

SANS Moderator:
Josh Lemon, Principal Instructor, SANS Institute

Panelists:
Ron Bushar, Managing Director of Mandiant Solutions, Google Public Sector
Jamie Moles, Senior Technical Marketing Manager, ExtraHop

3:15PM

Keynote: Session Eight | Use of AI in Cyber Defense Panel

SANS Moderator
Sounil Yu, Co-Founder and Chief AI Safety Officer, Knostic

Panelists:
Vijay Bolina, CISO, Head of Cybersecurity Research, Google Deepmind
Jason Clinton, CISO, Anthropic
Matt Knight, Head of Security, OpenAI

4:00PM

Closing Remarks

Speaker:
Matt Bromiley, Event Chairperson, SANS Institute