Cybersecurity Summit Recap

TAO’s 2022 Cybersecurity Summit took place on November 4, 2022, at Biamp World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. This summit consisted of three-panel topics, nine panelists, and 85+ attendees. Thank you to our sponsors, Biamp and Summit Security Group!Panel #1:Opportunities to Promote + Support Secure, Sustainable Fintech Innovation in OregonPanelists: Shamir Karkal (Sila), Paresh Patel (PayRange), and Kirsten Anderson (State of Oregon).The abundance of apps and payment options opens the doors for suspicious activity and security breaches. We learn from our cybersecurity mistakes and weak points in a company’s system, otherwise, someone else will. To help minimize the risk of breaches, a team should be agile and flexible in creating systems that catch suspicious activity. To better understand the weak points of a cybersecurity system in use, engaging in incubator experiences will open resources and opportunities to improve your systems. These challenges and opportunities of innovation and regulation organize what it means to re-developing a thriving in-person tech community in Oregon. We also looked at the unique challenges of transaction monitoring for high-quality micro transactions and what that looks like for an outlook for a U.S. stablecoin along with the possibility of streamlining of US state-by-state money transmission licensing.

Panel #2: Cybersecurity + Identity Management TrendsPanelists: Shawn Neibaur (Summit Security Group), Christ Nolke (PGE), Ben Gherezgiher (State of Oregon)As Shawn Neibaur (of Summit Security Group), said “The real problem is with the security leadership.” A company needs to understand all parts of its security system because someone will find those areas and extort them. Humans are the worst enemy when it comes to phishing emails. He emphasizes the importance of Zero Trust Security to push back on traffic to minimize risks presented by the internet and things in all our modern devices.A company must understand its cloud capabilities, risks, and third-party reliance. Through network penetration, building adequate unit tests and automatic solutions that helps to monitor & support when something is used outside of the network. Doing so will help to socially engineer programs.Chris Nolke discussed targeted business-centric security implementation.Ben Gherezgiher commented on how state legislation is needed to support cybersecurity measures. This will create an encounter to participate and be diligent, leading to infosec employee training. This includes walk-throughs and explaining penetration test results.

Skip Newberry, Chris Nolke, Shawn Neibaur, Ben Gherezgiher[/caption]Panel #3: Opportunities to Grow and Diversity Oregon's Cybersecurity WorkforcePanelists: Oregon Representative Nancy Nathanson, Reet Kaur (Portland Community College)As Rep. Nancy Nathanson remarked, being agile, flexible, and fast are not words usually associated with government actions. A large discussion point in this panel was security and preparing our workforce as the tech industry advances. Reet Kaur included a huge variety of cyber jobs that aren't necessarily in tech. This includes marketing, building, design work, etc. Tech companies should be looking for skills rather than a title.

Reet Kaur, Rep. Nancy Nathanson[/caption]Rep. Nathanson's Cybersecurity Bill:The base of Rep. Nathanson’s Cybersecurity Bill initiates the power of collaboration and the Importance of involvement from the government. This cybersecurity workforce legislation will help to create initiatives and opportunities to grow and create a diverse, next-generation Cybersecurity Workforce through the power of training and cross-industry, public and private sector collaborations. This bill focuses on awareness, education, and training for public and private sectors to create a cybersecurity center of excellence. This includes the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and Portland State University. The funding would be given to all three universities to start a virtual learning center and then extended to surrounding universities. This would be the first bill in Oregon to include all three universities.Be on the lookout for more TAO Summits, Events, and Community Gatherings!https://www.techoregon.org/events/