2023 Cybersecurity Awareness Summit
Les Olson IT
Attending Cybersecurity Conferences Offers Several Compelling Benefits
- Cybersecurity meetings offer up-to-date knowledge and trends.Attendees stay updated on the latest cybersecurity trends, threats, and technologies. Subject matter experts share their experiences through detailed presentations of legislation, rules, compliance, new technologies, and solutions.
- Conferences provide networking with industry experts, peers, and potential mentors.These meetings foster valuable professional relationships that are solutions-oriented. Networking opportunities put the best minds together to solve complex challenges.
- Professional development for professionals in the field is another benefit.Managers discover new ways to solve problems, gain insights into the growing problem, and discover more effective ways to reach compliance. Some conferences provide certifications for attendees to bolster their credentials and career prospects.
- Cybersecurity conferences provide collaboration opportunities between professionals, researchers, and policymakers.These meetings allow participants to discuss challenges and collaborate on solutions. These venues offer attendees a way to collaborate and contribute to a collective effort to thwart attacks on data.
Les Olson IT
Cybersecurity Summit Keynote Speaker Line-up Videos
Charles Kikumoto
Executive Risk Practice Leader at Moreton & Company
Speaker Bio: As the Executive Risk Practice Leader for Moreton & Company,
Charles has oversight and responsibility for day-to-day service needs for Moreton’s executive risk programs. Charles ensures the proper delivery and maintenance of all executive risk responsibilities for Cyber Liability, Cyber Crime, Directors and Officers Liability (D&O), Employment Practices Liability (EPL), Fiduciary Liability, and Errors and Omissions (E&O). Charles is actively involved in the industry on a regional and national level. He was the PLUS (professional liability underwriting society) Southwest chapter chair during 2014 – 2016 along with being a committee member since 2010.
Charles has 20+ years of industry experience. Prior to joining Moreton & Company, Charles was responsible for brokering significant executive liability insurance premiums with AonFinancial Services Group in Denver, Colorado. Charles has been a trusted advisor to national and international accounts ranging from private companies to Fortune 500 entities. Charles also provides strategic risk advisory services to the Board of Directors for non-profit and for-profit entities.
Jay Ryerse
CISSP | Vice President Cybersecurity Initiatives | at Connectwise
Speaker Bio: Jay Ryerse is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) & the vice president of cybersecurity initiatives for ConnectWise. He is responsible for driving cybersecurity initiatives throughout the organization and the MSP market as well as providing education around managing cyber risk for ConnectWise partners and their clients.
Jay brings more than 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, information technology and security solutions to businesses of all sizes to ConnectWise. He began his current role in November 2019 following ConnectWise’s acquisition of Continuum, where he served as Chief Technology Officer of security products. In this role, Jay was responsible for driving education and awareness of cybersecurity issues and products within Continuum’s partner community.
Prior to Continuum, Jay served in a number of leadership positions, including the chief executive officer of CARVIR, a managed cybersecurity firm for MSPs. He also served as vice president and general manager of IT Services at Digitel Corporation after selling his MSP in 2014.
Jay is the author of a self-published book titled “Technology 101 for Business Owners.” He is also the 2014 recipient of MSPmentor.net Industry 250 Executives award and Top 501 MSP’s (#201) recognition.
Originally from Ohio, Jay resides in Pennsylvania with his wife. In his free time, Jay plays ice hockey in several adult leagues and has participated in several Sprint Triathlons. He is also an avid traveler and owns a home in southern Spain.
Pete Fintak
Information Systems | at Intermountain Health
Speaker Bio: 24 years with Intermountain Health information systems 10 years as Enterprise Office Print Manager
AWS CCP, CSA,
ITIL V3,
SDI CSDM, CSDD
Pete Fintak is a highly skilled IT professional with over two decades of experience in healthcare information systems. Since he started, he quickly climbed the ranks to become one of Intermountain Health’s most valuable assets.
Throughout his career, Pete has spearheaded the implementation of cutting-edge IT solutions that have revolutionized healthcare delivery at Intermountain Health. His cloud expertise has earned him several prestigious certifications, including the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and CSA certifications.
Pete’s passion for excellence has earned him recognition as a Certified Service Desk Manager and a Certified Software Development Professional. He is known for his relentless pursuit of innovation and unwavering commitment to patient care. Because of this, he also obtained his Information Technology Infrastructure Library certification, a globally recognized collection of best practices for managing information technology.
Toby Scales
Security Architect | Media & Entertainment | at Google Cloud’s Office of the CISO
Speaker Bio: Toby leads the Media & Entertainment vertical in Google Cloud’s Office of the CISO, where he focuses on developing specific guidance and solutions to help media companies securely achieve their digital transformation outcomes. Over the past ten years, he has led cloud transformation initiatives with every major studio in his work for both Microsoft and Google.
Before getting involved at the intersection of Hollywood and cloud, he ran the services arm of a major MSP in Manhattan (where he developed their cloud consulting practice), and before that founded and sold his own consulting firm in Seattle, Washington.
Now he lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and two sons– who are officially recognized as the World’s Best Kids. 😀
This year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month’s main focal areas revolve around four key fundamental cybersecurity best practices:
- ENABLE MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATIONLess than two-thirds (57%) of respondents to an NCA survey say they have heard of MFA. Many people don’t realize that multi-factor authentication is an incredibly important tool that goes a long way in keeping accounts secure. In fact, of those who knew about it, most had applied MFA to their online accounts (79%) and were still using it (94%), showing that once MFA is enabled, users will keep using it. This month, we’re showing others how easy it is to enable MFA wherever possible.
- USE STRONG PASSWORDS AND A PASSWORD MANAGERAs our online lives expand, we’ve gone from having just a few passwords to today, where we might manage upwards of 100. That’s 100 unique passwords to remember, if you’re using strong password habits. Password managers can save users a lot of headache and make accounts safer by recommending strong passwords. This October, we’re dispelling the misconceptions about password managers and showing others how these tools will keep them safe online.
- UPDATE YOUR SOFTWAREAlmost 2 in 5 survey respondents say they either “sometimes,” “rarely,” or “never” install software updates (NCA). One of the easiest ways to keep information secure is to keep software and apps updated. Updates fix general software problems and provide new security patches where criminals might get in. This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we’re telling others to step away from the “remind me later” button to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.
- RECOGNIZE AND REPORT PHISHINGPhishing attacks increased by 61% in 2022, according to SlashNext. Phishing attacks have become an increasingly common problem for organizations of all sizes and can be very difficult to spot. 30% of small businesses consider phishing attacks to be their top cybersecurity concern. It’s important for every individual to stop and think before clicking on a link or attachment in a message and know how to spot the red flags. Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023 will give individuals the tools they need to recognize a phish and report it to their organization or email provider.
CYBERSECURITY MONTH BLOG ARTICLES
Les Olson IT
Who Should Attend a Cybersecurity Conference?
Attendance at cybersecurity meetings brings professionals and experts together from many different areas of information technology. These experts include IT managers, technology officers, and networking engineers who examine and implement best practices. Business executives and government officials come to learn and make better policy decisions and how to protect government and business interests best. Educators and students discover the latest trends and new technologies that can help identify electronic security threats and prevent data loss.