SecureWorld Government & Education Virtual Conference 2025

Your opportunity to visit our solution vendor partners, whose sponsorship makes SecureWorld possible, as well as association chapters! Booths have staff ready to answer your questions. Look for participating Dash For Prizes sponsors to be entered to win prizes.

Also, look for “Cyber Connect” discussions on select topics and join the conversation.

Visit the Networking Hall to network with attendees and connect with our vendor sponsors and association partners.

Session description to come.

Visit the Networking Hall to network with attendees and connect with our vendor sponsors and association partners.

Phishing is still the most common attack method because it taps into natural human biases. In this session, we’ll break down the key psychological triggers—like authority, urgency, and social proof—that make these attacks work.

You’ll learn how to build awareness programs that actually connect with employees by focusing on what motivates real behavior. We’ll walk through a practical framework for designing empathy-based simulations, tracking behavior change over time, and improving your training based on what works.

You’ll walk away with a proven, psychology-based blueprint and ready-to-use templates to build phishing awareness programs that cut click rates by over 30% in just three months.

A discussion of managing third-party risk and how to manage expectations and contracts with vendors.

Visit the Networking Hall to network with attendees and connect with our vendor sponsors and association partners.

The dark web hosts numerous encrypted email providers marketed as privacy-centric platforms. However, many of these services are increasingly subverted by malicious actors—ranging from cybercriminals to extremist groups—who exploit weak authentication protocols, flawed onion routing implementations, and unmonitored registration pipelines. This study identifies and demonstrates key vulnerabilities in these anonymous email infrastructures, including account hijacking, metadata leakage, and bot-based mass account creation. We showcase real-world exploitation tactics used to bypass safeguards and embed persistent backdoors.

The United States has become a patchwork of conflicting and overlapping data privacy regulations as individual states race to protect consumer rights and create comprehensive privacy laws. This presentation will delve into the complex landscape of state privacy laws, examining key provisions, compliance challenges, and potential impacts on businesses. We will explore how these varying regulations create an ever-changing environment for organizations operating across state lines, creating challenges for innovation and consumer trust. Additionally, the presentation will discuss the ways in which the United States is leveraging other laws (consumer protection, tort law, and older federal laws) to create privacy protections where no general state or federal privacy laws currently exist.

Session description to come.

Visit the Networking Hall to network with attendees and connect with our vendor sponsors and association partners.

 Forget the typical CISO panel. This isn’t about high-level problems; it’s about practical solutions for the professionals on the front lines. Join a candid conversation with top City, State, and County CISOs as they open their playbooks to reveal the strategies that work in the real world of government. We’ll bypass the buzzwords and get straight to what matters: how to translate technical risks into boardroom wins, what non-technical skills will get you promoted, and how to build a resilient team culture that thrives, even with limited resources. This is your opportunity to learn from the leaders who have been in your shoes. Walk away with actionable insights and proven tactics to elevate your work, advance your career, and make a real impact in your organization.

As AI continues to revolutionize the business landscape, organizations face the critical challenge of harnessing its potential while mitigating associated risks. This panel session brings together experts from varying industries to explore the intricacies of developing comprehensive AI strategies and governance policies.

Our presenter(s) will delve into:

• The current state of AI adoption across various industries and its impact on cybersecurity
• Key components of an effective AI strategy, including alignment with business objectives and ethical considerations
• Designing governance frameworks that ensure responsible AI use while fostering innovation
• Addressing AI-specific risks, including bias, privacy concerns, and potential security vulnerabilities
• Regulatory landscape and compliance requirements for AI implementation
• Best practices for data management and protection in AI-driven environments
• Ethical considerations in AI development and deployment
• Strategies for building AI literacy within organizations
• Future trends and preparing for the evolving AI landscape

Gain valuable insights into creating balanced, forward-thinking AI strategies that maximize benefits while maintaining robust security and ethical standards. The session provides practical guidance on navigating the complex intersection of AI, business objectives, and regulatory requirements.

Visit the Networking Hall to network with attendees and connect with our vendor sponsors and association partners.

The term Chief Information Security Officer, or CISO, is one that is often defined incorrectly. Many people assume that a CISO is part of the career step, or stop, toward becoming a world-class security engineer. It’s often said the way you become a CISO is to be a security engineer for 10 years and get promoted—but that is all wrong. It is a broken model and why many companies struggle with defining the role of the CISO. A CISO is, by all definitions, a Chief Officer (CO) with a focus and obsession for Information Security (IS). Thus, a true CISO is a CO with an emphasis on IS.

In this talk, Dr. Eric Cole breaks down how we got here, why the old CISO model is broken, what we can do, and what you can do to become a better CO IS for yourself and your organization. Whatever your title, you will come away invigorated to rethink your role in security leadership!