Speakers
Rick Doten - The Cruise Director!
Presentation: "Enabling Secure AI Adoption: Building Strategy, Governance, and Guardrails for Enterprise AI"
This session describes how a mature AI adoption program balances innovation with security requirements. I’ll describe why success demands strategy before tools, and give examples where AI is delivering real value in today’s organizations. I’ll list the strategic questions every organization must answer to define their AI strategy and establish effective guardrails without stifling innovation. This is by focusing on areas like training, systems thinking, reliability and business value. I’ll address how AI applications are not just quick and inexpensive to build now, but fundamentally different from traditional software: they are non-deterministic, so reliability consistency and accuracy are critical; agent-based architectures creating greater surface areas; and new connections require new identity models. These are critical for security teams. This is a business process transformation, not just an AI project. This talk provides actionable guidance for supporting AI adoption while maintaining the security, compliance, and reliability standards.
Bio:
Rick Doten is an award winning CISO whose new consultancy Prescient Cyber LLC helps organizations reimagine and create new capabilities to mature their AI and cybersecurity programs in ways that aren’t common yet.
He was previously Healthplan CISO at Centene Corporation, CISO for multinational mobile services company, and vCISO supporting multiple international companies. During his time as vCISO he educated corporate boards, developed and matured security programs, built a SOC, and created the curriculum for a Cybersecurity Master’s degree program for an International University. Earlier in his career, Rick managed the east coast regional cybersecurity consulting practice for Verizon Business.
Rick focuses on AI Governance and Ethics research and assists companies to transform cybersecurity functions through an AI lens. He advises many venture capital firms and is on the Board of Advisors of eight innovative cybersecurity startups. Rick is a frequent speaker, podcast guest, and writer of papers and articles for topics ranging from cybersecurity, neurodiversity, and AI governance, and vibe coding security.
Bob Henry, Armis
Bio: Bob is a network and data security subject matter expert at Armis, Inc., with a career dating back to 1993. He has dedicated nearly two decades to the DoD and USG, including a pivotal eight-year tenure supporting the Chief Security Engineer for the Office of the DoD CIO. In this role, he led the modernization of security systems across the entire Department of Defense.
Now focused on securing critical infrastructure for large-scale enterprises, Bob combines technical depth with the ability to articulate complex topics to stakeholders at all levels. He is a Georgetown University alumnus. When he isn't securing networks, Bob pursues his passion for aviation, whether that is traveling with his spouse or teaching pilots as a Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI-I).
Presentation: Title: "Beyond Vermicelli and CVSS: Moving Enterprise Risk to CTEM
Blurb: Stop managing vulnerabilities in a vacuum and start mobilizing the enterprise against the exposures that actually matter. Join us for a deep dive into the next generation of exposure management. We will move past legacy vulnerability paradigms and static risk scores to explore how Contextual Intelligence—leveraging asset telemetry, reachability analysis, and automated attribution—can transform rigid organizational silos into flexible, high-speed remediation engines.
In this session, we’ll solve the "Spaghetti Challenge" by moving beyond spreadsheets and Slack messages to automate vulnerability management continuously. You’ll learn how to transition from point-in-time scanning to a Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) framework that identifies not just the flaw, but the specific ownership and attack path to high value targets.
Mike Brannon, National Gypsum
Bio: Mike Brannon is an experienced IT professional and long-term employee at National Gypsum Company (NGC).
Over a 40-year career at NGC, I have been a part of a LOT of technology innovation. These days I focus on cybersecurity, cloud solutions, and business/technology risk management.
I am also an IT-oriented community activist and serial networker! Presently serving on the advisory council for CISOEXECNET, an advisor to Charlotte ISSA and as a chapter host and advisor for the CyberBreakfast Club community. Connect with us for breakfast - URL: https://www.cyberbreakfastclub.com/join-today
Specialties: Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Palo Alto security technology experience. Leading projects and programs, working across all aspects of cybersecurity.
Presentation: Secure your cloud: Use Microsoft Entra - focus on Conditional Access tools.
Overview of the best way to secure your cloud - particularly Microsoft 365 & Azure, along with SaaS Applications.
We will dive a bit into Conditional Access and some of the controls you get with the E5 or added security subscriptions available.