By Wendy Rager. 2024 marks the 15th UC Cyber Security Summit. Last year, the excitement among participants of the 2023 UC Cyber Security Summit in April was palpable, as it was the first in-person Summit since the pandemic began. That energy and buzz is swirling once again, as the Cyber-Risk Coordination Center (C3) begins to plan the 2024 Summit. The event will feature inspiring speakers and informative sessions that will spotlight technology and cybersecurity threats at UC and beyond.
The Value of Sharing Perspectives
The UC Cyber Security Summit provides an opportunity for stakeholders and thought leaders to unite to share perspectives, engage in talks and panels, and discuss the latest in cybersecurity. With risk management, asset management, security measures, privacy issues—the cybersecurity landscape is ever changing and evolving. These important connections and conversations inspire and inform attendees, as they discuss practical day-to-day security tips while digging deeper into the latest information on cybersecurity.
Past Summit attendees have included everyone from thought leaders across UC, and other higher education entities, to cybersecurity professionals, leaders in compliance, legal and procurement, as well as government security officials.
Summit 2020-2022: Innovation in Trying Times
In 2020, C3 needed to quickly switch gears to deliver a virtual summit in four weeks. Thanks to the quick and skillful responses to the challenges of the pandemic, and the high engagement and satisfaction scores, C3 won the inaugural UC Tech Awards Program Golden Award for IT Security.
Summits were held virtually for the next two years. In April 2022, the virtual Summit was hugely popular, with over 600 attendees. Featured speakers included Juliet Okafor, JD, CEO and Founder of Revolution Cyber and Ed Skoudis, President, SANS Technology Institute.
97% of participants of the 2022 Summit said that they would recommend the summit to a colleague.
“Every year gets better and better,” one 2022 Summit attendee said. “Thank you kindly for a worthwhile and productive summit that looked at security as a lifestyle and paid attention to the humans being affected.”
Read more about the event in the 2022 Cyber Risk Program Annual Report: https://security.ucop.edu/about/annual-report.html.
Summit 2023: Addressing Critical Knowledge Gaps
The 2023 summit was the first in-person gathering since the pandemic, and was also consciously more “green” as there were no pre-printed badges or agendas. Held at the UCLA Carnesale Commons, hundreds of thought leaders gathered to discuss technology, industry insights, and cybersecurity best practices. Jay Panchal, systemwide Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) provided opening remarks. Themes covered included cybersecurity and the law, privacy-enhancing technologies, and the importance of creating a security-first mindset. The impressive speaker list included representatives from Amazon, UC, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Read more about the event on the UC IT blog: https://cio.ucop.edu/cyber-security-summit-2023-highlights/
Summit 2024: Vigilance & Resilience
C3 is busy planning the next in-person event, to take place October 2024. The Summit will continue the conversations around cybersecurity, risk management, and how vigilance and resilience brings the human factor to the forefront in a technology-driven world. With the quickly-moving advancements around technology, AI, digital risk, and security, it is bound to be an exciting and relevant event filled with valuable insights from professionals and thought leaders across a myriad of industries.
Are you interested in being a 2024 Cyber Security Summit speaker or have someone in mind that you’d like to recommend? Please contact the C3 Cyber Security Summit team at uccybersummit@ucop.edu.
Author
Manager
Cyber Risk Coordination Center
UC Office of the President