Global Cybersecurity Experts Take the Stage at SECtember, Hosted by Cloud Security Alliance

Event provides state-of-the-art perspective on cybersecurity threat vectors and solutions rooted in cloud computing

SEATTLE – Aug. 17, 2022 – The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today released the agendas for SECtember (Sept. 26-30, Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, Wash.) and the second annual CxO Trust Summit, which will be held on Sept. 27 as part of the larger conference. Combined, these events will provide critical insights into board oversight of cybersecurity, CISO strategies, emerging threats, and best practices, all against the backdrop of cloud and related leading-edge technologies.

“Cloud computing has become the default IT platform, cloud security is now the foundation for cybersecurity, and cyber is a critical component of every country’s national security strategy. These realities put Cloud Security Alliance and our community of experts at the center of the industry on a global, national, and enterprise level. We have assembled a world-class roster of speakers at our SECtember conference in the heartland of the cloud industry and have structured a program for attendee engagement and networking. I look forward to a week of collaboration to help us all address our biggest cyber challenges and stay ahead of sophisticated threat actors," said Jim Reavis, co-founder and CEO, Cloud Security Alliance.

SECtember 2022 will feature both a main conference of industry thought leaders, as well as deep dive training into Zero Trust, cloud auditing, and advanced cloud security topics. Among the conference’s highlights will be:

• Our Cyber Future: The Consequences of Success. Speaker: Glenn S. Gerstell, Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic & International Studies. The Ukraine war has highlighted the overwhelming criticality of the internet, cloud computing and the internet of things. What does this tell us about our cyber future? Will relentless technological development and globalization lead to a better cyber future? Or, does the very success of those factors and the incessant malicious use of cyber imply more regulation, content control, and nationalist approaches to our digital lives?
• Cyberware in the Age of Cloud. Speakers: Norma M. Krayem, Vice President and Chair, Van Scoyoc Associates Cybersecurity, Privacy & Digital Innovation Group; Bob Lord, Senior Technical Advisor, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA); Kathleen Moriarty, Chief Technology Officer, Center for Internet Security. As the world continues its heavy reliance on IT infrastructures more frequently underpinned by cloud services, it has become clear that any physical military incursion initiated by a country against another also will have elements of cyber warfare. This panel explores what that means for government and private organizations and how we should be prepared to ensure the cyber resiliency of critical infrastructures.
• The CISO’s Corner. Featured CISOs: Phil Venables, CISO, Google Cloud; Tim McCreight, National Director, Market Development and Strategic Advisory, CGI. In his session, Phil Venables will share his unique perspective on risk management and cloud security megatrends that drive cloud adoption and improve security for all, while in a later session, Tim McCreight will provide his unique perspective on cloud computing gained from over 40 years operational experience in the security industry.

The CSA CxO Trust brings together a community of C-suite executives to evolve cloud and cybersecurity understanding, knowledge, and needed solutions in response to enterprise challenges. Highlights from this year’s sessions include:

• Making Your Board of Directors Cyber Security Leaders. Speaker: Jason Witty, CISO, USAA. The role of the Chief Information Security Officer has matured greatly over the past three decades. While none of the original requirements of the role have gone away, many new opportunities require CISOs to be excellent business leaders, board advisors, risk managers, technical engineers, and people leaders simultaneously. Jason Witty presents a unique perspective on how to balance these fluencies to be successful at the C-suite table and within the boardroom.
• Threat Modeling: A Hands-On Table Top Exercise to Understand Cloud Based Attacks. Presented in coordination with Security Innovations, this threat modeling tabletop exercise will demonstrate how cloud applications and infrastructure are attacked. Participants will gain hands-on experience identifying the latest CSA Pandemic Eleven Top Threats and hardening cloud operations.
• Change Agent: CISA’s Shift to Private/Public Partnering. Bob Lord, Senior Technical Advisor, CISA. Lord will speak to CISA's efforts to shift its focus from a traditional public/private partnership to one focused on operational collaboration, and will share his perspective as someone who has moved from industry to government, and ways we can all start thinking more about a “secure by design” mindset as we build and maintain systems.

After several years without the chance to meet face to face, attendees will be able to network with their peers on the Expo floor and make personal connections that are so critical to closing the skills gap that is pervasive throughout the security industry. Additional networking opportunities include a welcome reception, Happy Hour, CSA Chapter Leaders Breakfast, and the Diversity in Security Luncheon, where guests will hear from prominent industry insiders who represent a variety of backgrounds and who will share their experiences as we explore how to make the cloud security industry more inclusive. (Limited space available. Reserve your seat as part of your registration.)

Those interested in attending SECtember are encouraged to register now. Attendees can receive a 25-percent discount on conference registration when bundled with one of the following training courses. (To redeem the discount, register for the conference and add the selected training session, then enter coupon code "COMBO25" at checkout.)

• Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) Foundation Training (Sept. 26)
• Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) Plus (Sept. 26-27)
• Certificate of Cloud Auditing Knowledge (CCAK) (Sept. 26-27)

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.