I used to be in Wichita, Kansas final week as a visitor keynote speaker at their Inaugural Kansas Cyber Summit 2022, which was a packed occasion that reached capability for the venue. This Authorities Cyber Summit was hosted by the Kansas Workplace of Info Safety and introduced collectively stakeholders from throughout Kansas: Ok-12 faculties, universities, and state and native governments.
The agenda included an incredible keynote tackle by Chief Info Know-how Officer (CITO) DeAngela Burns-Wallace. She says “wonderful” as a result of she is a superb speaker, motivational, and really educated in regards to the significance of cyber safety and its many potential enterprise impacts to authorities and society at giant. I can say with out hesitation that Burns-Wallace has a greater understanding of cybersecurity than most CIOs, CTOs, or different cabinet-level executives from the non-public and public sector world wide.
The title of the presentation by Dr. Burns-Wallace, who additionally serves as Kansas’s Secretary of Administration, was “Cyber Threats to the State and the Alternatives We Have.” Utilizing a wealth of information, he outlined the rise in cyberattacks in opposition to governments, new cyberthreats we face in any respect ranges of presidency and training, workforce improvement challenges to attracting and retaining expertise in Kansas, and , above all, the crucial of acquiring satisfactory options for the medium and long run.
Dr. Burns-Wallace outlined what’s at stake and what stays to be completed as Kansas strikes ahead, referencing the Kansas Govt Department 3-Yr IT Plan that was launched on October 1, 2022.
The day’s occasions had been led by Jeff Maxon, who’s the CISO for Kansas and one of many high authorities CISOs within the nation. You possibly can be taught extra about him on this weblog interview. Jeff did an impressive job of together with all sectors within the viewers and collaborating in frequent discussions on a variety of subjects and questions from the viewers.
Plus viewers interactions throughout my very own keynote on actual ransomware tales from world wide from my e book Cyber Mayday and the day afterI actually loved the classes on:
The workforce improvement theme was distinctive in that it highlighted excellent work led by Sharmelle Winsett at KC Students. There are various packages in Missouri and Kansas that can assist improve the cybersecurity workforce in quite a lot of methods.
Based on their web site, KC Students:
- Awarded greater than 3,000 conventional scholarships to eleventh graders, permitting college students to earn their faculty training with little or no debt.
- Offered almost 1,000 grownup studying scholarships for highschool graduates to return to school and end their diploma.
- Awarded greater than 1,000 highschool college students a KC Students’ School Financial savings Match Award to assist them actively save for his or her faculty future whereas studying monetary literacy.
Karen Sorady, who’s MS-ISAC’s Vice President of Member Engagement and a former New York State CISO, led a dialogue spotlight on cyber assets. Karen did an important job going over all of the free assets that the Multi-State Info Sharing and Evaluation Heart (MS-ISAC) presents, a few of which I’ve articulated in earlier blogs, such because the mentoring program and networking alternatives. for state and native governments.
You possibly can be taught extra in regards to the Kansas Cyber Summit, view occasion footage, and work together with attendees on this LinkedIn submit from the Kansas Workplace of Info Know-how Providers.
ANOTHER BIG MICHIGAN CYBER SUMMIT FOR 2022
The Michigan Cyber Summit has been a significant annual cybersecurity occasion for over a decade, and this 12 months’s didn’t disappoint. The primary Michigan Cyber Summit in 2011 featured audio system together with former Governor Rick Snyder; the secretary of the US Division of Homeland Safety, Janet Napolitano; Howard Schmidt, White Home cybersecurity coordinator and particular assistant to the president; and US representatives John Dingell, Mike Rogers and Hansen Clarke.
As Michigan’s CSO on the time, I wrote about being “behind the scenes” at that occasion in October 2011, and you’ll examine it right here.
This 12 months’s Michigan Cyber Summit bought out once more and the occasion featured an unbelievable lineup of audio system from throughout the nation on a variety of subjects. This system presents the main points of those speeches. Right here is only a small pattern of the classes:
casual speak – Be a part of our consultants for a hearth chat to the touch on the most well liked subjects within the cybersecurity ecosystem. The dialogue will embody the newest points, threats, and improvements in cybersecurity safety. Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company; Laura Clark, chief info officer, Michigan Division of Know-how, Administration and Funds. (Observe: US Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) additionally joined this session as a particular visitor.
- Panel Dialogue: Automotive IoT: A Dialog on Connectivity and the Cybersecurity Ecosystem in Michigan. Not because the days of Henry Ford has the automotive business skilled such huge and dynamic change. The evolution of linked and automatic automobiles, sensible infrastructure, and the development of synthetic intelligence and machine studying has positioned cybersecurity on the coronary heart of the mobility motion of the longer term. This panel of cyber mobility professionals is pioneering a brand new digital age and tackles robust subjects together with automotive cybersecurity, sensible cyber policymaking, automotive cybercrime, and getting ready the following era of cyber workforce on the similar time. that acknowledges the worth of hackers.
Moderator: Jennifer Tisdale, CEO, GRIMM
- Panelists: Kelly Bartlett, Related and Automated Automobile Specialist, Michigan Division of Transportation; Kristie Pfosi, Govt Director of Product Cybersecurity, Aptiv; Ronald Kraus, Cyber Specialist, Michigan State Police; Samir Tout, Ph.D., Professor, Info Safety and Utilized Computing, Japanese Michigan College/GameAbove School of Engineering and Know-how
- featured speaker – Chris DeRusha, federal director of data safety, Workplace of Administration and Funds and deputy nationwide cyber director for federal cybersecurity, Workplace of the Nationwide Cyber Director
- Panel Dialogue: Working Collectively to Remodel Cybersecurity A dialogue with state and native CIOs on the most well liked subjects on the forefront of cyber safety. Matters will embody the cybersecurity workforce and how one can supply, prepare, and retain expertise. The significance of working collectively throughout the state and area to outline greatest practices and supply alternatives to accomplice for funding. It is going to additionally talk about how CIOs handle and stability ever-evolving danger, in addition to how they reply to menace exercise and cyber disruption.
Moderator: Doug Robinson, Govt Director, Nationwide Affiliation of State Chief Info Officers
Panelists: Tracy Barnes, Chief Info Officer, State of Indiana; Laura Clark, chief info officer, Michigan Division of Know-how, Administration and Funds; Katrina Flory, State Chief Info Officer/Deputy Chief, State of Ohio; Hector Roman, Wayne County Chief Info Officer; Joshua Spence, chief info officer, West Virginia Workplace of Know-how; Artwork Thompson, Chief Info Officer, Metropolis of Detroit
There have been many highlights from the cyber summit classes all through the day, however listed here are a few of my high notes:
- Election safety stays a high precedence, and states and CISA are working tougher than ever to guard your vote, stand as much as insider threats, and tackle misinformation surrounding elections. This web site of rumors and details might help from CISA. Additionally, take a look at CISA’s Shields Up web site on cyber threats.
- Cybersecurity is primarily a folks situation, with many particular person facets that have to be addressed. Everybody ought to get entangled in Cyber Safety Consciousness Month and all year long. We want a “neighborhood watch” for cybers.
- Cyber instruments and capabilities are quickly evolving, threats are rising globally, together with threats from the nation-states of Russia and China.
- All of us want to present suggestions to CISA, NIST and DHS.
From the state and native CIOs:
- The highest precedence is cyber workforce improvement.
- The Ohio authorities group is hiring workers laid off from different Ohio tech firms.
- Many states are removing diploma necessities for good cyber jobs.
- There’s not a excessive degree of confidence within the normal degree of cyber defenses on the state or native degree.
- “Cyber shouldn’t be an issue to be solved, it is a danger to be managed,” stated Josh Spence, CIO of West Virginia.
- The challenges of changing legacy expertise stay monumental.
- ID administration is a giant deal.
- From Tracy Barnes, Indiana CIO: “Course of enhancements assist with cyber instruments and churn by making certain continuity throughout unsure instances.”
- New large-scale assaults and cyber incidents have to be addressed with statewide cyber simulation workout routines, stated Laura Clark, Michigan CIO and CISO.
- Detroit CIO Artwork Thompson could be very happy with the coordination and intergovernmental partnerships in Michigan.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It was an thrilling week for me, however nice to make new associates in Kansas and reconnect with previous associates in Michigan from all vertical industries.
I believe Kansas is effectively on its approach to creating a whole lot of new hits that cross company and authorities silos, and it will likely be wonderful to see the place they’re in a decade.
And in each state, the upcoming election may have a huge effect on expertise and safety packages, and other people will proceed to supply the best alternative for achievement and failure.
– 2022 State Cyber Summit Recaps from Kansas and Michigan
