Gratitude and Inspiration at DRIxNYU: Cyber Resilience. Thrilled to reflect on an incredible day at the Collegiate Conference hosted in partnership by my two homes. The energy, insights, and shared passion for advancing cyber resilience were truly inspiring.
Gratitude: A massive thank you to the incredible speakers and participants who made this event a resounding success. Your expertise, engagement, and commitment to building a resilient future are the driving force behind this transformative experience. Thank you especially to the core team who made this happen.
Inspiration: Every moment was a lesson in the evolving landscape of cyber threats and the innovative strategies to combat them.
Building Resilience Together: The panel discussions showcased the vision and insightful news of our community. It’s energizing to see professionals from diverse industries coming together to explore the opportunities and address the threats posed by AI, quantum computing, and more.
A Special Thanks: A heartfelt thank you to the exclusive sponsor, Fusion Risk Management for supporting us in making this event accessible and impactful for our community.
Networking Highlights: The lunch roundtables and networking reception provided an invaluable opportunity to connect with brilliant minds, exchange ideas, and forge new partnerships. These connections are the bedrock of our collective resilience journey. I especially love getting to tap the knowledge of my current and former students.
Looking Ahead: I’m not only grateful for the knowledge shared but also excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. The insights gained will undoubtedly shape our strategies, making us more resilient in the face of evolving cyber threats.
Let’s continue this conversation beyond the conference. Feel free to share your thoughts, key takeaways, or connect with me for further discussions. Together, we’re building a future where cyber resilience is not just a goal but a shared reality.
Conference Program (original post here)
8:30 a.m. – Registration and Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – Welcome Remarks; Global Trends in Risk and Resilience
Chloe Demrovsky, CBCV, DRI President and CEO
What are the top risks that worry resilience professionals as we emerge into a post-pandemic world? This session will open the event with an overview of how we, as members of this exciting and evolving profession, prioritize and respond to some of our biggest challenges. Based on DRI’s annual survey of nearly 500 professionals across all industries and sectors, our research shows a variety of major issues such as cyberattacks, natural disasters and economic uncertainty. With so many risks at play, DRI’s President and CEO Chloe Demrovsky will provide guidance on how we can build a more resilient future together.
9:30 a.m. – Emergency Management and Business Continuity in a Polycrisis World
Kelly McKinney, CBCP, Assistant Vice President of Emergency Management and Enterprise Resilience, NYU Langone Health
We live in a post-modern polycrisis world. Our organizations – governments, public and private sector organizations, hospitals, universities – are besieged by a multitude of human-caused, natural and technological risks. Given this, what is the role of the emergency management and business continuity professionals? Our organizations need us to bring order to the chaos. But are we ready to do that?
10:15 a.m. – Navigating Tomorrow’s Uncertainties: The Future of Risk In The Age of Technological Advancements
Melanie Subin, Managing Director, Future Today Institute
Join us for an insightful presentation from Melanie Subin, Managing Director of Future Today Institute. In this discussion, Subin will delve into the fascinating landscape of risk in an era of ever-evolving technological sophistication. As we stand at the intersection of innovation and uncertainty, this discussion will explore how cutting-edge technologies like generative AI and quantum cryptography are fundamentally reshaping risk across a wide variety of industries.
11:00 a.m. – Morning Break
11:15 a.m. – Merging Cyber Resilience and Cybersecurity to Improve Response and Recovery
Rouz Hashemi, CCRP, Senior Manager – Cyber Attack Resilience, Accenture
A proper cyber resilience approach has always required business and technology stakeholders to interact, decide, and set appropriate risk tolerance. But with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) adding the term “govern” to its framework, what is the opportunity for change and improvement? In this session, we will discuss how merging cyber resilience and cybersecurity under the NIST framework will enable organizations to be better prepared for and better able to respond to and recover from cyberattacks in a more tangible manner.
11:45 a.m. – Cyber Resiliency in the DNA: Forging a Secure and Resilient Culture for the Digital Age (Sponsor Session: Fusion Risk Management)
Safi Raza, Senior Director of Cyber Security, Fusion Risk Management
In this session, we will explore how to navigate the complex landscape of cybersecurity, focusing on the human element. We’ll showcase the power of nurturing a security-conscious workforce through compelling success stories and practical insights. Key highlights of this presentation include:
Understanding the pivotal role of a cybersecurity-focused culture, characterized by resiliency, in safeguarding your organization:
- Proven strategies for cultivating a mindset of resilience in every member of your team, from top executives to front-line staff
- A deep dive into real-world cases where a security-driven and resilient culture has not only defended against cyber threats but thrived amidst challenges, and
- Insights into building a culture that not only protects against cyber threats but adapts, endures, and emerges stronger in the face of adversity.
12:15 p.m. – Lunch Reception
1:15 p.m. – Panel Discussion: Emerging Technology – Opportunities and Threats
Moderator:
Dr. Christopher Ankersen, Clinical Professor and Interim Academic Director of the MS in Global Security, Conflict, and Cybercrime, NYU SPS Center for Global Affairs
Panelists:
Zhanna L. Malekos Smith, Visiting Fellow, U.S. Global Engagement Initiative (USGE)
Chadwick Shroy, Cyber Analyst, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Region 2
Clayton “CJ” Dixon, Senior Advisor and Deputy Director for Emerging Technology Policy, Office of Cyber, Infrastructure, Risk, and Resilience, Department of Homeland Security
Melanie Stavenow, Intelligence Analyst, National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA)
Innovation is championed as a solution to a range of public policy problems, from climate change to food security to education. However, history is replete with examples of new technologies delivering a range of outcomes, not all of them positive. The internal combustion engine, for example, increased the scale and range of human activity, freeing millions of people from the drudgery of manual labor. At the same time, though, it generated environmental damage, not to mention social and political displacement, on an unprecedented scale. Will our new technological advancements, likewise, be ‘double-edged’ swords
This panel discussion will explore the impact of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and blockchain, on critical infrastructure, transnational security, and disinformation. The panelists will discuss the potential benefits and risks of these technologies, as well as the challenges of mitigating their negative impacts.
2:15 p.m. – Collaborative Cyber Incident Response at NYC Cyber Command
Jonathan Rotta, Project Manager, Agency Incident Response Readiness, NYC OTI Cyber Command Threat Management Division
This session will provide a high-level overview of cyber incident response at NYC Cyber Command, a division with NYC’s Office of Technology and Innovation. In this session, Jonathan Rotta (Project Manager, Agency Incident Response Readiness) will provide a look at the NYC Cyber Command organizational background, mission, and cyber incident management process enacted to effectively respond to active cyber incidents in the NYC environment. Learn about this organization’s approach to preparing covered entities for conducting shared-responsibility incident response.
3:00 p.m. – Afternoon Break
3:15 p.m. – A United Nations Perspective on Cyber Risk and Resilience
Nehali Anupriya, Program Management Officer, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
Join UNDRR’s Nehali Anupriya for a unique perspective on cyber risk governance challenges, including the potential risks to international stability posed by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, and how we can work together through international cooperation to achieve resilience.
4:00 p.m. – Panel Discussion: Resilience Across Industries
Moderator:
Karina de Allicon, CBCP, CRMP, Director of Business Continuity Governance, Nike
Panelists:
Greg Pinchbeck, CFCP
AnneMarie Staley, CBCP, Head of BCP Americas, Credit Agricole CIB
Alexandra Shaheen, Director of Crisis & Incident Management, New York Times
Melody Wen, ABCP, Crisis Management, an aerospace manufacturing company
Wrap up our afternoon with a lively panel discussion of resilience in a variety of industries. With representatives from financial services, tech, and manufacturing, this diverse group will share insights into how various aspects of resilience — including cyber threats, disaster recovery, and business continuity management — present unique challenges in their respective sectors.
4:45 p.m. – Closing Remarks
5:00 p.m. – Cocktail Networking Reception
You can view a blog post about the event on NYU’s website here.
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