CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The City of Cheyenne Technology Advisory Council, or TAC, has finalized the schedule for the Aug. 17 Cyber Cheyenne 2023 conference with two tracks, one for tech experts and another for members of the business community, featuring Keynote speaker U.S. Secret Service Special Agent-in-Charge Derek Booth, held at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne.
The conference is educational in nature with continuing professional education credits provided for any information technology or business professionals, but especially for the collaborating Wyoming Information Systems Security Association, or ISSA, and Northern Colorado ISSA chapters, according to a press release.
Keynote speaker Booth is one of the founding members of the Mountain West Cyber Fraud Task Force, or MWCFTF, in Denver, Colorado. Since 2012, the mission of the MWCFTF has been to support the region in cybercrime investigations including ransomware, network intrusion, ATM and gas pump skimming, business email compromise and computer/cellphone forensics, the release states.
After the kickoff by Mayor Patrick Collins and the keynote speech by Booth, the two tracks will begin.
Tech experts track includes sessions led by Galen Gough, IT director of Jonah Bank; Jeremy Daily, associate professor of Systems Engineering at Colorado State University and co-founder of the CyberTruck Challenge; and Gina Yocone, the advisory CISO for the mountain states region. There is also a highly anticipated panel discussion of “The Future of Cybersecurity: How Quantum Computing May Affect Cybersecurity and Blockchain.”
Per the release, the business track includes sessions by James Morrison, national cyber security specialist at Intelisys; Dr. Erik Huffman, a founding researcher in the emerging field of Cyberpsychology; and Elmer Robinson, CEO at Rocky Mountain Cybersecurity.
Laura Baker, co-founder and executive director of CyberWyoming, will announce the winners of the 2023 Cybersecurity Competition, followed by the winners discussing their journey in the program and how it helped their business and confidence level in tackling cybersecurity. Launched by CyberWyoming in 2018, this competition promotes best practices in cybersecurity among Wyoming small businesses through the innovative Made Safe in Wyoming program. As the only competition of its kind, it has garnered national and international acclaim, earning the prestigious Gula Tech Foundation Award in February 2022.
“I am very excited to announce the winners of the competition at the conference,” Baker said. “We have very strong competitors this year, and it will be tough for the judges to choose a winner.”
There are many other sessions during the conference, including “The Art of Hacking Embedded Controls: A Journey through Cyber-Physical Security” by Derek Catterfeld and “Trapping the Snake: Russia’s Most Sophisticated Malware” by Brad Rhodes.
Cyber Cheyenne 2023 aims to build a sense of community among attendees and facilitate ongoing collaboration to strengthen the region’s cybersecurity efforts.
“We anticipate that technology experts and business owners will leave the conference equipped with cyber-specific resources and the reassurance of being supported by a nurturing tech-focused community,” said Summer Wasson, chair of the City of Cheyenne Technology Advisory Council.
“Cyber Cheyenne 2023 is made possible by the City of Cheyenne and the invaluable support of Mayor Patrick Collins. We are also grateful to the sponsorship from the Wyoming ISSA Chapter and the Northern Colorado ISSA Chapter, as well as our Premiere Sponsor, Laramie County Community College, for bringing this Conference to the region,” Wasson said. “Additionally, we extend our gratitude to CyberWyoming and CyberWyoming Alliance for their unwavering support.”
To register and learn more about Cyber Cheyenne 2023, visit the official website at https://www.cybercheyenne.com/. To see the schedule, visit https://www.cybercheyenne.com/schedule/.
