As the national dialogue on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure reaches a fevered and occasionally irrational pitch - most visible in the form of relentless media reporting, constant legislative proposals, and a forthcoming Executive Order - many are left wondering what it all means and how to respond. In particular, this talk will focus on providing context and conceptual tools to help dissect, interpret, and respond to the present momentum in ways which will create opportunities for your organization rather than risks. The second half of the talk will allow the audience to interactively guide follow-up discussion.
Jack Whitsitt is currently a Principle Analyst at Energysec, a non-profit electric sector information sharing organization. There, he is also the lead facilitator and thought leader for a national public/private partnership initiative with more than 50 companies participating to assess the business risk from cybersecurity to a specific industry. Prior to Energysec, Jack was one of the two primary federal points of contact for transportation industry cyber security at TSA and co-led the development of a sector-wide cybersecurity strategy and the first ever transportation sector cyber exercise. Past, more operational, roles and projects have included time at Idaho National Laboratory supporting ICS-CERT and the National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) and the development of cutting edge SOC correlation tools and techniques for an MSSP. Entering the security world 10 years ago as an open source developer, his unusual combination of hard technical knowledge, public/private partnership development and outreach expertise, and national level risk management perspectives allow him to provide particular insight into the current state of the national cybersecurity dialogue and how it can best be leveraged by industry.