MES Computing's Midsize Enterprise Summit IT Security just wrapped up in Indianapolis. The event was held against the scenic backdrop of the Lucas Oil Stadium – home of the Colts. While the Hoosier State's weather was a bit unpredictable – snow one day, sun the next, the summit was the place to be for cybersecurity professionals in midsize organizations.
Yesterday's kickoff included opening remarks by Adam Dennison, The Channel Company's VP of Midsize Enterprise Services, plus an insightful keynote from Shawn Tuma, partner and co-chair, Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice Group, Spencer Fane LLP. Tuma, an attorney specializing in cybersecurity law, leant his expertise in topics ranging from how organizations should respond to ransomware demands to choosing cyber insurance, and shared with the audience a chilling, actual phone call from a hacker demanding ransom from a CEO.
Barracuda's Eric Russo, senior SOC manager, Defensive Security, Barracuda MSP, demonstrated a real-life cyber attack and spoke about how a mature security operations center can help detect threats early and minimize the impact of an attack.
IT leaders also gathered in groups to solve and discuss mock physical cyber security challenges, in a lively, thought-provoking exercise.
Vendors gave live demos of cybersecurity solutions in a series of Solutions Track sessions. In one, Anthony Pillitiere, CTO and co-founder, Horizon3.ai, presented, "Go Hack Yourself: More War Stories from ~50k Pentests." In another session, David Detweiler, managing director, SEI Sphere, demonstrated threat intelligence in action.
MES advisory board members shared their wealth of knowledge in several executive and whiteboarding sessions. Adam Leisring, chief information officer, Outreach, presented, "Application Security & The ‘Shift Left.'" Herman Brown, CIO, Office of the District Attorney, City and County of San Francisco, gave a compelling talk in his session, "Securing From Within: Understanding and Mitigating Insider Threats."
In two powerful whiteboarding sessions, which involve peer-to-peer networking, advisory board leader R.C. Woodson, vice president of IT & CIO, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, weighed in on being an effective security champion. Michael Chunn, AVP of Infrastructure and Operations, Gesa Credit Union, provided strategies on masterfully responding to cybersecurity incidents. Daniel Lehman, director of technology, AGG, spoke about midmarket account management essentials.
Retired FBI agent Scott Augenbaum, formerly of the Cyber Crime Prevention; Supervisory Special Agent, Cyber Crime Fraud Unit, shared his years of experience in the closing keynote, "The Unseen Battlefront: Proactive Cyber Defense Strategies for Midsize Organizations."
The event's celebratory close included the XCellence awards, a reception and ended with a fabulous dinner featuring the MES IT Leadership advisory board members.
Check out the slideshow below for scenes from the event:
