SPEAKERS

The Importance of Being in Third Place

The cybersecurity community runs on caffeine, curiosity, and—too often—isolation. Remote work, burnout, and a growing sense of disconnection are quietly impacting our mental health and professional resilience. Research shows that people who lack strong social ties are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, and even early mortality. Civic and social engagement has dropped dramatically over the last few decades—Americans now belong to fewer groups, have fewer close friends, and spend less time in communal spaces than ever before.

This talk explores how creating and sustaining local cybersecurity communities—through meetups, informal gatherings, and hacker cons —helps fill a critical need for connection. These spaces act as modern "third places," offering more than just a venue for technical exchange. They foster belonging, affirmation, shared purpose, and, perhaps most importantly, a support system to help carry the emotional weight of our work. By intentionally building these local networks, we strengthen not only our industry—but each other.

By unpacking the sociological importance of these communities, this session makes the case for showing up, getting involved, and eventually helping build the spaces that keep our industry—and its people—healthy.

The Anatomy of a Pentest: Live and Uncensored

As times change, our understanding and approaches to standardized tasks change as well. In this presentation we will discuss how penetration testing evolved and what you should expect from a modern pen test to get maximum value and results.

Less Jargon, More Impact: Maturing from Individual Contributor to Cybersecurity Leader

I used to think the fastest way to grow in security was to get better at breaking stuff. Then I realized nobody promoted the guy who just kept popping shells and asking for more budget.

If you’re feeling stuck... burning through alerts, writing up risks that never get fixed, or wondering how people end up in those “strategy” meetings ...this talk is for you. I’ll share my journey from hacking banks with custom malware to advising programs for Fortune 100s, and the uncomfortable shift from technical practitioner to executive leader.

We’ll dig into what leadership really looks like in security: how to influence without authority, get buy-in, and speak exec without selling out. You’ll leave with practical tools, like risk registers, POA&Ms, and frameworks that actually work, and strategies to build trust, lead initiatives, and earn that next role. Whether you're aiming for team lead, CISO, or just want your ideas to land, this will help you take the next step.

AI Meets Backup: Scanning for Threats in the Safety Net

Backups contain rich historical data. Why not use that to your advantage? This talk covers how to use AI/ML models to scan backups for hidden threats, detect long-dwell malware, and gain intelligence into when an infection started. We'll demo scanning workflows that turn backup data into a proactive security asset.

Weird Ways to DA

In this presentation, we’ll explore the strange and unexpected methods I’ve used to gain Domain Administrator access during penetration tests over the years. From the simplest overlooked misconfigurations to more intricate attack paths, this session will walk you through real-world scenarios that highlight both well-known and obscure tactics, hopefully with a few laughs along the way.

Using open source in compliance and regulated industries

You’re using open source, in everything, everyone is. But what does that mean if you have to worry about compliance? We used to be able to use Jedi mind tricks to make open source compliance requirements go away, but that doesn’t work anymore, regulators have figured out what open source is. The free lunch is over.

So what should we be doing? If compliance is important, and open source is everywhere, how hard can it be? How should we track all this open source? What about vulnerabilities? How does FedRAMP, SOC, or FDA work when you have open source? What about Europe with NIS2, CRA, and DORA? Is it different if you’re developing vs deploying? Can we even secure something we didn’t write? Do I need to know what countries a person lives in who also worked on this open source stuff? Let’s figure out what using open source in a regulated environment looks like. It’s rather naive to just shout “update your dependencies”, it’s more work than just that, let’s talk about

You Are Not Alone: Building and Thriving in the InfoSec Community

Many InfoSec professionals find themselves as the lone security expert in their organization, tasked with defending against evolving threats without an internal support network. But being the only InfoSec person at your company doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. The broader security community is your greatest resource for staying informed, sharpening your skills, and finding much-needed support.

In this talk, we’ll explore how to effectively leverage the InfoSec community to grow as a professional and combat isolation. We’ll discuss how to engage in local meetups, conferences, online forums, and professional organizations like ISACA, (ISC)², and DEF CON groups. You’ll also learn about mentorship opportunities, open-source collaboration, and ways to contribute back to the community to strengthen our collective defense.

r00ting Out Fraud on Telegram

Cybercriminals aren’t just stealing credentials—they’re openly trading them in Telegram channels. This talk dives into how phishing sites funnel stolen data into fraudster-run Telegram bots and marketplaces, revealing tactics for tracking, infiltrating, and extracting valuable intelligence. We’ll explore OSINT techniques to follow the trail from a phishing site to compromised credentials, automate data collection, and even disrupt fraud operations. Whether you’re a threat hunter, defender, or just curious about the underground economy, this session will equip you with the skills to turn the tables on cybercriminals.

What the Homelab?!

In this talk, Jim Schultz will discuss the advantages of building a cyber-focused homelab for continued growth and learning. In a world full of never-ending subscriptions for cybersecurity training, running a homelab with second-hand hardware and widely available software is a fun and enjoyable breath of fresh air. You will learn about common tools and technologies that can be integrated to build out a lab, common pitfalls, and other resources to get started, whether you’re a novice or pro!

Defending Satellites: Applying Earth's Defensive Playbook in Space

In the "New Space" era, marked by dynamic commercial ventures and cutting-edge technologies, securing satellites against digital threats is crucial. This presentation will explore satellite security challenges and how terrestrial defense mechanisms can be adapted for space. Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, over 8,000 satellites have been launched as of 2020, with over 6,500 since then, reflecting rapid technological advancements and the emergence of private space firms. This surge not only shifts mission frequency and variety but also enlarges the attack surface, introducing new vulnerabilities in space security.

Help Me I Am Running Out Of Ideas! Can Threat Modeling Facilitate Pen-testing?

This speech outlines the synergy between Pen-testers and Threat Modeling activities.

Whereas Threat Modeling is practiced early on in the Design phase of the Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SSDLC), Pen-testing activities are performed in late stages.

Threat modeling is a table top exercise aimed at outlining security requirements. On the other hand Pen-testing is an after-the fact exercise that identifies vulnerabilities and missing security controls.

Several Synergies can be utilized between the two activities. This speech takes a closer look how Threat Modeling as a pre-cursor can benefit Pen-testing activities. Additionally the feedback from pen-testing can be used to enhance Threat Modeling.

Becoming the Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes : Building Realistic Phishing Simulations

Attackers continue to get smarter and faster with creating phishing emails for users. Defenders must create simulations which provide opportunities to train against these upgraded threats. Security awareness programs need to be providing a variety of examples of what real world attackers are using. They also need to change how they are delivered in order to better match the unpredictable nature of attackers. This talk will cover how you can take your phishing simulation from just meeting requirements to one that will be a potent tool in preventing phishing.