Friday Night Cyber

Growing up in the suburbs of Columbus, one thing was crystal clear – Friday night was dedicated to our high school’s football game. No exceptions.

You simply can’t grow up in Buckeye Country without having at least a passing interest in the game. Whether you knew the intricacies of the sweep play or you were just there to pick out the cute wide receivers, football was a way of life.

It might sound like a big jump, but cybersecurity is just like those small town football games. Everyone is invested. And everyone has a role to play. Seriously.

For GovLoop and Carahsoft’s upcoming in-person event, “Cyber Playbook: Meet the Players,” we’re unveiling our cyber roster of speakers:

The Coach – From Cyber Command to US-CERT, cyber policy stems from and is molded by the top brass. Ann Barron-DiCamillo, Director of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), calls the cyber plays for the federal government. It’s up to her when the game (security breaches) is on the line to make the big decisions.

The Players – While coaches call plays, players execute. The same is true in the cyber world. Kate Randal, an Insider Threat Analyst at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, takes cyber policy into action. She reads the plays. In her current role, she leads a multi-agency psychosocial indicator research project, is the program liaison to behavioral analysis, and works on active FBI insider threat investigations.

The Huddle – A coach could come up with a perfect game plan, but a game plan can only take a team so far. Each play requires small adjustments. Those small adjustments are made during the huddle. The same is true in the cyber world. Threats like malware, phishing, advanced persistent threats and zero day attacks require game time decision-making. Cyber professionals must obtain real-time visibility of networks, improve ability to mitigate known flaws and decrease security risks by reducing their vulnerabilities. We will introduce you to the huddle that make those agile decisions.

The Blitz – Everyone once in awhile an attack can leave the quarterback blindsided. An attack so unexpected it can throw the game totally off course. Some malicious cyber attacks function much the same way taking organizations completely by surprise. One solution is to make sure the blitz doesn’t get through again. You block. We will introduce you to five different expert cyberattack blockers. These speakers have the tools to prevent and mitigate the worst cyber blitzes.

The Press Conference – Win or lose, each game ends with a press conference where each play is dissected by the media. The recent cyberattack on the Post Office is just the latest example of the media telling the world about a cyber play. So how do cyber players handle the media? Meet a panel of experts wise to the way of the broadcast.

It is pretty clear that cybersecurity and football are closely aligned. But if you are one of the skeptics we invite you to the stands for the in-person Cyber Playbook event on November 19^th at the Metro Marriott in DC. The ticket price is free, reserve your seat today.

Come on down and root for your cyber team!