CyberSecurity Midwest Summit features 100+ information security experts from various industries speaking on topics ranging from using AI to improve security, zero trust and identity/access management, to incident response and emerging threats, third-party risk management and cloud security.

InfoSec Experts Sharpen Tactics at CyberSecurity Midwest Summit

A standing-room-only crowd of senior information security executives came together for the annual Cybersecurity Midwest Summit hosted by CDO Magazine in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 14. It was the closing event in Data & Security Week North America that included the CDO Magazine Summit September 12, and the Data & Security Boardroom Event September 13.

“Cyber security is a key strategic enabler in the new era of generative AI for the enterprise,” says Steve Wanamaker, CDO Magazine CEO.

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Keynote speaker Mark Lance, GuidePoint Security Vice President, DFIR & Threat Intelligence presents “Anatomy of a Ransomware Attack.”

Keynote speaker Eric Andrews, Securiti VP of Marketing presents “Building a Data Command Center with DSPM for Hybrid Multicloud.”

Keynote speakers Lori Anello, Fifth Third Bank CISO, Nicole Beckwith, The Kroger Co. Manager, Threat Operations, Katrina Biscay, University of Cincinnati CISO, Junell Felsburg, The Columbus Foundation Sr. Director Cyber Security and Infrastructure and moderator Christine Zmich, RSM Business Development Director, present “Navigating the New Normal: Incident Response in the Face of Emerging Threats.”

The all-women panel of security executives drew a standing-room only crowd.

The one-day Cybersecurity Midwest Summit was larger and more impactful than ever with more than 500 industry professionals from across the Midwest region exchanging insights and best practices. The summit featured more than 100 panelists, 20 breakout sessions, and four keynote presentations. Participants had the opportunity to engage with speakers during panels, visit exhibitor booths, and network with peer leaders.

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Jason Tyree, American Family Insurance AVP Enterprise Cybersecurity; Michael B. Farrar, City of Westerville CIO; and Bryan Holmes, Andelyn Biosciences VP, Digital & Technology Solutions, discuss “Beyond the Buzz: Real World Discussion on Maturing a Zero Trust Strategy” with moderator Taylor Gorning, AHEAD Managing Director.

Michael Speas, Western & Southern Financial Group VP, CISO & Infrastructure; Tim Brady, Belcan Deputy CISO; and Connie Matthews, ReynCon Founder & CEO, talk about “To AI or not AI? That is the Question” with moderator Dave Fordham, ProcessUnity Director, Partners & Alliances.

A standing-room-only crowd gathered to hear the panel on “To AI or not AI? That is the Question.”

Anthony Fisic, Battelle CISO; Matt Godsted, 84.51 Director - Enterprise Security; Drew Perry, Serta Simmons Bedding CISO; and Matthew Williams, University of Cincinnati Executive Director of Information Security & Deputy CISO, share their views on “Vendor Management: The Weakest Link?” with moderator Chris Schmidt, IT Ally Senior Cybersecurity Advisor, Risk Advisory Services Practice.

Discussing “Identity and Access Management (IAM): A Key Enabler of Digital Transformation and Business” are panelists Jeff Steadman, RSM US Director, Security & Privacy Risk Consulting; Brian Shea, MedOne Healthcare Partners & Lexington Clinic CIO; John Podboy, Fifth Third Bank SVP, Cybersecurity, with moderator Matt Franko, RSM US LLP Principal.

Engaging on “AI, Hybrid Workforces and Beyond – Navigating the Cybersecurity Landscape” are panel speakers Jeff Boerio, U.S. Bank SVP, Director of Incident Response; Jon Halar, Arctic Wolf Sr. Security Engineer; Thomas Scarborough, Fifth Third Bank Sr. Director, Information Security, and moderator Pat Haller, CPC VP of Sales.

Information security experts from a range of industries shared their firsthand experiences and applications from managing their companies’ critical infrastructures. Topics included journeys to zero trust, best practices with DevSecOps and application security, third-party risk management, using AI to improve security, identity and access management, incident response and emerging threats, and cloud security.

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Rich Nagle, The Ohio State University AVP & CISO; Anthony Biegacki, Covelli Enterprises CISO; and moderator Rick Rutledge, Armis Sales Engineer, talk about the “Journey to Zero Trust in a Constantly Changing Environment.”

Jarrod Anderson, ADM Artificial Intelligence Sr. Director; Hemant Jain, State of Indiana CISO; Adam Leisring, Paycor CISO; and Bryan Willett, Lexmark International CISO, discuss “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AI-or should I?” with moderator Bino Gopal, Cloudflare SASE Solutions Architect.

The panel discussion on “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AI-or should I?” attracts an attentive audience.

Alex Marsh, Milwaukee Tool Security Manager - Governance, Risk & Compliance; Eric Satterly, Bellarmine University CIO; Asa Perry, CareSource Sr. Manager, Information Security, Cyber Defense Engineering, share their thoughts on “The Third-Party Paradox: How to Keep Your Extended Enterprise from Becoming a Security Threat” with moderator Larry Navarro, ProcessUnity Sr. Solutions Consultant.

Discussing “Managing Identity in a Modern World” are panelists Kirk Ball, Giant Eagle EVP & CIO; Tim Lange, American Financial Group Divisional VP, Information Security; and Nicholas Schopperth, Dayton Children's Hospital CISO, with moderator Jeff Purrington, SalesPoint Identity Strategist.

Engaging on “How to Keep Ahead of the Bad Guys: A Fireside Chat” are moderator Ron Minto, Rubrik Sales Engineering Leader, and panel speakers Elias Oxendine, YUM! Brands Global CISO, and Nick Ritter, First Financial Bank SVP & CISO.

“Speaking at the Cybersecurity Midwest Summit was an amazing opportunity to share valuable insights on a variety of Incident Response topics,” says Matt Scheurer, an AVP of Computer Security & Incident Response in the financial services industry. “Our panel engaged in conversations around recent shifts observed in Threat Actor tactics with social engineering, malware, and ransomware.” He adds, “Other discussions centered around insider threats and logic attacks. We highlighted the importance of engaging with staff outside of our own teams to glean valuable insights on potential threat vectors as a pathway towards organizationally ‘thinking like an attacker.’’

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Wes Kyrlach, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati IT Director; Jon Rike, City of Dayton CIO; and Brandon Lavine, The Gorilla Glue Company Sr. Manager, Information Security, discuss “Zero Trust: Beyond the Marketing, What YOU Need to Know” with moderator Ron Minto, Rubrik Sales Engineering Leader.

Sharing their insights on “Redefining Scale and Security: The Strategic Blueprint of DevSecOps” are moderator Oded Hareven, Akeyless CEO/Co-Founder, and panel speakers Chris Hickok, Home City Ice CIO; Robert P. Michel, Lenovo Director, Cloud Security; and Lisa Heckler, CareSource CISO, VP, Information Security & Privacy.

Brad Coppel, Cintas Manager, IT Security, Verification & Validation; Rob Felsburg, Updox/EverCommerce Director, Security; and James McIntyre, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati CIO, talk about “Third Party Risk Management, Who Do You Trust?” with moderator Brett Jones, Delinea Sr. Sales Engineer.

Discussing “To Cloud or Not to Cloud – A Practical Discussion around Cloud Security” is moderator Tony Shoyat, WIZ Regional Sales Manager, with panelists Oksana Shmaliy, Grange Insurance Director, Cybersecurity; Matt King, Belcan VP, Global IT Security, CISO; Mark Jeanmougin, Siemens Security Architect; and Leon Ravena, OpenLane (FKA KAR Global) CISO/CIO.

Chris Tyo, Fifth Third Bank Director, Cyber Detection Analysis & Response; Will McGuire, Hillman Group Director, Information Security; Micah Brown, Financial Firm Security Architect; and Greg Peebles, UofL Health AVP & CISO, share their thoughts on “Relentless Preparation for Incident Response” with moderator P.J. Kiggins, GuidePoint Security Sr. Account Executive, North Central.

Michael C. Redmond, Metro Louisville Deputy CISO, likes that “the breakout sessions included topics such as vendor management and the security requirements that organizations should ask of their vendors, managing security in the rapidly growing use of AI/ML, and others that CISOs in 2023 are concerned with.”

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Brian Minick, Fifth Third Bank Chief Technology & Information Security Officer; Mitch Greenfield, Humana CenterWell Home Health, Information Security Officer; and Anupam Srivastava, State of Ohio Department of Administrative Services CIO, share their thoughts on “The Art of Implementing Zero Trust” with moderator Matt Haschak, Stratascale (An SHI Company) Field CISO.

Engaging on “DevSecOps Best Practices” are panel speakers Joe Otten, Fifth Third Bank Sr. Director, Information Security; David Sims, Elevance Health Staff VP, Security Technology Services; and Andy Willingham, Munich Re ITSO, with moderator Taylor Gorning, AHEAD Managing Director.

Panel speakers Shannon Culp, ADM Director, Security Governance & Awareness; Emily Morgan, Coterie VP, CISO; Michael Redmond, Metro Louisville Deputy CISO; Lynn Watson, Dinsmore & Shohl Director, Security, Risk & Compliance, and moderator Jim Halcomb, EDM Council Head, Product Management, discuss “Mitigating Third-Party Risk: Best Practices and Strategies for Enhanced Security in the Digital Age.”

Moderator Victor Mendoza, Thales Principal Solutions Architect, and panel speakers David Heere, Victoria's Secret Security Architect, and Jason Kinder, Leonardo DRS Sr. Director of Security, Cyber Security Operations, share their thoughts on “An Architect, Manager and Director Walk Into The Cloud: Is It More Or Less Secure?”

Discussing “Incident Response and Emerging Threats: How to Stay Ahead of the Curve” are panelists Jason Allen, Northern Kentucky University Sr. Director, Artificial Intelligence; Tuan Q. Phan, ThreatReel Principal Security Engineer; Ryan Potter, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent; Matt Scheurer, Financial Services Industry AVP, Computer Security & Incident Response; and moderator Scott Bloug, Mandiant (now part of Google Cloud) Principal Cyber Security Consultant.

According to Michael Farrar, City of Westerville, Ohio, Chief Information Officer: “The biggest takeaway from the summit I learned, as the cybersecurity landscape changes, cybersecurity professionals are empowering staff across the organization to help provide a unified defense against cyber threats. The days of it being 1 person or team are gone, and cybersecurity is now more and more an integral part of company culture.” He continues, “The CDO Magazine CyberSecurity Midwest Summit is an awesome event to meet with like-minded professionals in the industry, hear real world examples of how companies are navigating the ever changing cybersecurity landscape and what innovation is on the horizon.”

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Keynote speaker Chris Nyhuis, Vigilant Founder and CEO, presents “Unmasking the Invisible Threat: Fortifying Your Organization on the Cybersecurity Battlefield.”

Steve Wanamaker, CDO Magazine CEO, thanks the hundreds of CyberSecurity Midwest Summit participants for their active engagement with their peers in the security community.

Anupam Srivastava, State of Ohio CIO, Department of Administrative Services, agrees and sums up his experience: “CDO Magazine’s Cybersecurity Summit was a very well-organized event, bringing together security practitioners from across the Midwest and beyond to exchange ideas to advance the security posture of their organizations. The curated sessions provided valuable perspectives of lessons learned by those in the battle trenches. The large number of security leaders attending demonstrated that they want to learn from others’ journeys, and it made meaningful discussions possible. Additionally, vendor presentations of some novel products provided food for thought of how to protect the vast amounts of data that companies have.”

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Participants enjoy connecting between sessions at the CyberSecurity Midwest Summit.

“This event is always exciting – sharing perspectives and ideas with my peers in the region,” adds Drew Perry, Serta Simmons Bedding Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer. “But this year to have a keynote led by such strong, amazing women leaders shows me we are growing this industry in all the right ways!”

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