General James Mattis to Headline Cloud Security Alliance CISO Summit at RSA Conference 2021

Virtual summit to explore critical strategies enterprises must have in place to succeed

SEATTLE – April 21, 2021 – The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, announced today that General James Mattis, Secretary of Defense (2017-2018), will headline its CSA CISO Summit at RSAC 2021 on May 18, fielding questions from the Cloud Security Alliance community in an informal fireside chat. The event, themed “Executive Strategies for the Cloud-Centric Enterprise,” will feature notable executives and prominent industry insiders as they emphasize critical cloud-centric IT strategies that organizations must have in place to succeed in the race to the cloud.

“We are excited to have General Mattis headline our event and can think of no greater personification of the no-nonsense attitude we must all have in surviving and thriving in these challenging times. He exemplifies the spirit, philosophy and wisdom of a leader, and we look forward to putting his lessons into practice in our industry. We appreciate his willingness to engage in a no-holds barred interview to answer the questions on the minds of cybersecurity leaders,” said Jim Reavis, co-founder and CEO, Cloud Security Alliance.

In his keynote session "Leadership in the Age of Cybersecurity,” General Mattis, who will be interviewed by a top Fortune 500 CISO, will draw on almost 50 years of service to his country and share insightful lessons on leadership and provide his perspective on emerging trends in cybersecurity relevant to both defense and civilian sectors.

During his 44 years in the Marines, General Mattis rose from an 18-year-old reservist to the highest rank of four-star general. He capped off his military career as head of the U.S. Central Command, where he was in charge of all U.S. forces serving in the Middle East and oversaw operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Syria, Iran, and Yemen. He retired from the post in 2013. Four years later, he became the first member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet cleared to take office.

Global events have accelerated the necessity for organizations to have a cloud-centric IT strategy that enables a flexible workforce, virtualizes operations, and minimizes business disruption. A series of plenary sessions with industry insiders and lightning talks by C-level executives will shed light on CISOs’ top cloud security priorities and the future of cybersecurity in response to these events.

Attendees of the event can earn up to 6.5 CPE credits.

Learn more about the agenda and speakers for the CSA CISO Summit at RSAC 2021.

The CSA CISO Summit at RSAC 2021 is free to attend for registered RSA Conference delegates when using the Digital Expo pass code 1U1CSADE. (Those interested in an RSA All Access pass should register with code 1U1CSAFD.) Visit CSA CISO Summit at RSAC 2021 to learn more and register for the summit, or contact [email protected] for additional event or sponsorship information.

About Cloud Security Alliance
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. CSA harnesses the subject matter expertise of industry practitioners, associations, governments, and its corporate and individual members to offer cloud security-specific research, education, training, certification, events, and products. CSA's activities, knowledge, and extensive network benefit the entire community impacted by cloud — from providers and customers to governments, entrepreneurs, and the assurance industry — and provide a forum through which different parties can work together to create and maintain a trusted cloud ecosystem. For further information, visit us at www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa.