Are you a cyber professional? Here are 5 sessions to watch at this week’s Gartner Security Summit

The DC Metro corridor’s reputation as a corporate and government conference mainstay continues Monday as National Harbor plays host to Gartner’s Security & Risk Management Summit at the National Harbor.

For those unfamiliar, Gartner is one of the premier providers of industry intelligence, insight and events across the technology landscape. From June 5-7, several of the world’s premiere cybersecurity vendors will be on display for thousands of attendees — most of whom are charged with evaluating, purchasing, deploying and managing a wide range of digital and physical security solutions. But this event’s relevance goes way beyond passwords and privacy.

With more data moving across networks than ever before, the vulnerability for consumers and companies has become overwhelming. Staying ahead of bad actors and anticipating the next attack while also keeping employees and contractors safe from accidentally exposing personal and corporate assets takes massive effort. The combination of keynote addresses, information sessions and exhibition hall demos will keep everyone busy and knowledgeable, while the many parties stand to plug in any activity gaps.

Gartner Summit attendees watch a speaker. (Courtesy photo)

Here are a few noted speakers and their sessions, along with their affiliated companies from around the country:

• Armis: “Why Are Attack Surfaces Expanding and What Can You Do About It?” — The sheer number of non-traditional IT systems connecting to the intranet and even having inbound or outbound connections to the internet is staggering. Armis VP of Marketing Chris Dobrec (VP of Marketing) will offer insights into how CIOs and CTOs can go about deciding the most effective path forward.
• Beyond Identity: “Is Passwordless MFA the Tip of the Zero Trust Spear?” — During this Q&A, Chase Cunningham (a.k.a DrZeroTrust) will join Beyond Identity CMO Patrick McBride to provide perspectives on zero trust. The discussion will include key requirements for modern, strong authentication and delve into issues facing first-generation multifactor authentication (MFA).
• Cymulate: “From the Boiler Room to the Board Room” — All businesses have specific procedures and protocols. Finances are validated daily, weekly and quarterly. But for cybersecurity, once or twice a year testing has been the norm. CMO Carolyn Crandall participates in this session on how she and Cymulate treat cybersecurity resilience as a business process.
• eSentire: “Navigating Risk Reduction and Cyber Insurance” — In this fireside chat between CISO Greg Crowley and Alliant Insurance SVP CJ Dietzman, the speakers will discuss how cyber insurers and enterprise organizations evaluate risk, as well as how cyber insurance can help protect businesses.
• Sygnia: “The Art of Negotiation in Defeating Ransomware” — Successfully handling a ransomware attack requires skillful orchestration between multiple elements, including strategic negotiations. SVP Adam Finkelstein will take the audience on a behind-the-scenes look at real-world negotiations, including recent examples of interactions with infamous threat actor groups, to provide an intimate understanding of how they think and operate.

The summit also includes innovative exhibitors like passwordless MFA provider HYPR and ransomware killer Halcyon. 

One of the only local cybersecurity vendors at the summit this year is Dragos. Based in Hanover, Maryland, Dragos has a leading platform for industrial control system cybersecurity. With some of the largest utility providers as customers, Dragos provides solutions to protect water, gas, oil and electricity infrastructures.

Nearly 250 companies will exhibit at this conference amid a broader market that makes how much they pay for facetime with prospective customers even more potentially prohibitive. Between fees, travel, gifts and entertainment, vendors are known to spend several hundred thousand dollars.

Learn more about this year’s conference