Trueye Tafese
10:00 am - 10:50 am
The shift to remote work has introduced new security challenges that organizations must address to protect their data and systems. By understanding the security risks associated with WFH and implementing the appropriate mitigation strategies, businesses can create a secure remote working environment.
This talk dives into the safety concerns tied to remote work, from network weak spots to data privacy issues, and looks at why outdated security systems fall short in tackling these problems. It presents the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) concept as an all-encompassing answer that brings together networking and security into one cloud-based service.
I am currently pursuing a Master of Science in Cybersecurity at Canisius University, set to graduate in May 2025. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering, I have developed a robust foundation in both software development and cybersecurity. My professional experience includes roles at Safaricom Telecommunication, where I enhanced security features and ensured compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols. As a Software Test Lead at Gebeya, I led QA efforts to improve system security and quality through automation and rigorous testing. Currently interning as a Software QA Engineer at Amazon, Seattle. I am deepening my expertise in securing software systems against emerging threats. My skills encompass cybersecurity, threat analysis, and secure software development practices.
Ryan Rogers
11:00 am - 11:50 am
The presentation walks through the development of how phishing attacks have been used in the cyber criminal ecosystem during the past 10 years. The emphasis of the presentation explores how phishing kits are compromised and used as well as how they have been developed to account for a variety of variables such as MFA, ameuture cyber actors, and AI technology.
Dr. Catherine J. Ullman
1:00 pm - 1:50 pm
Threats surround us like a ring of burning fire. Unfortunately, incident response doesn't come naturally to an operational mindset where the focus tends to be on reactive problem solving. As a volunteer firefighter for over twenty years, the speaker has learned a lot about what is and isn't effective. There are surprising parallels between fighting real-life fires and the fire-fighting that passes for today’s incident response. It’s all too easy to get tunnel vision and focus on the wrong areas, costing precious time. The security world is full of dumpster fires these days, so join this session to learn from a good firefighter what makes a good security person.
Dr. Catherine J. Ullman is the Principle Technology Architect, Security at the University at Buffalo. She is a contributor to O’Reilly’s 97 Things Every Information Professional Should Know, the author of Wiley’s The Active Defender, and has presented at many infosec/hacker conferences. In her (minimal) spare time, she enjoys visiting her adopted two-toed sloth Flash at the Buffalo Zoo, researching death and the dead, and learning more about hacking to make the world a more secure place.
Tom Kopchak and Meredith Kasper
2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
Have you ever tried to hack into an airport?
No? We really wanted to, but too many three letter agencies expressed concerns - so we did the next best thing: we built our own, let 500+ college students around the world try to hack into it, and designed a security monitoring solution to track (and automate our responses to) everything that happened.
Join presenters Tom Kopchak and Meredith Kasper to learn about the security engineering used to monitor and automate the 2023 Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition. If you enjoy security monitoring, Splunk, or industrial IoT, this talk is for you!
Tom Kopchak is the Director of Technical Operations at Hurricane Labs. He also serves as an adjunct Cybersecurity professor at Baldwin Wallace University and holds a Master’s Degree in Computing Security from RIT. His professional accomplishments have earned him induction into the esteemed SplunkTrust and has presented around the United States from DEFCON to Splunk .conf and numerous other security conferences. When he's not inspiring audiences with his security insights, Tom is giving back to the next generation of cyber professionals by volunteering as a competition director for the Global Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition (CPTC). This opportunity allows him to help aspiring security experts take their skillset to new levels!
Meredith Kasper is the Director of Technical Services at Hurricane Labs. With a background in offensive security and social engineering, Meredith has contributed across the community through mentorship and has spoken at a variety of conferences and events to help others find their passion in Cybersecurity.
Reg Harnish
3:00 pm - 3:50 pm
On July 19th, the world faced an epic cyber disaster. Within minutes, 8.5 million computers were compromised, marking the largest cybersecurity event in history. Airlines, banks, hospitals, government agencies, and nearly 25,000 other businesses were incapacitated, causing global chaos. Surprisingly, this wasn’t a coordinated ransomware or nation-state attack. It wasn’t Revil, DarkSide, or Anonymous. The largest cybersecurity incident ever was caused by a simple mistake from CrowdStrike. Despite the damages, the CrowdStrike incident may be the wake-up call needed to shake up an industry long susceptible to the status quo and a lack of imagination. Join us as we explore the best things to come from the CrowdStrike Meltdown - lessons learned.
Reg Harnish is a nationally recognized cybersecurity veteran, investor, board member, advisor, speaker, author and the CEO of OrbitalFire. He has spoken at nearly every major industry and cybersecurity conference.
Reg is also the founder and former CEO of GreyCastle Security, a former Executive Vice President at the Center for Internet Security and the former CTO of Autotask.
OrbitalFire is a leading cybersecurity services provider focused on simplifying, automating, and ultimately solving security challenges for the underserved – small businesses. Reg is responsible for the company’s vision, strategy, and growth.
Reg is responsible for several successful ventures, including GreyCastle Security (acquisition by DeepSeas in 2023), Autotask (acquisition by Vista Equity Partners and Datto in 2017), SynQuest (IPO in 2000 and acquisition by Viewlocity in 2002) and FunkyTalk.com (Internet venture with Kimbal Musk).
Reg has been featured in Time Magazine, Forbes, The Washington Post, CBS Nightly News, CIO Magazine, Dark Reading, Software Magazine, ComputerWorld, InfoWorld and countless other media outlets.