SecureWorld Midwest Virtual Conference 2023

Rebecca Herold has more than 30 years of security, privacy, and compliance experience. She is founder of The Privacy Professor Consultancy (2004) and of Privacy & Security Brainiacs SaaS services (2021) and has helped hundreds of clients throughout the years. Rebecca has been a subject matter expert (SME) for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on a wide range of projects since 2009, including: seven and a half years leading the smart grid privacy standards creation initiative, and co-authoring those informative references and standards; two years being a co-author of and a SME member of the team that created the Privacy Framework (PF) and associated documents; and three years as a SME team member, and co-author of the Internet of Things (IoT) technical and non-technical standards and associated informative references; and performing throughout the years proof of concept (PoC) tests for a variety of technologies, such as field electricity solar inverters, PMU reclosers, and associated sensors. Rebecca has served as an expert witness for cases covering HIPAA, privacy compliance, criminals using IoT devices to track their victims, stolen personal data of retirement housing residents, tracking apps and website users via Meta Pixels and other tracking tech, and social engineering using AI. Rebecca has authored 22 books, and was adjunct professor for nine and a half years for the Norwich University MSISA program. Since early 2018, Rebecca has hosted the Voice America podcast/radio show, Data Security & Privacy with the Privacy Professor. Rebecca is based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. www.privacysecuritybrainiacs.com

Stephen Dougherty has over a decade of investigative experience. His career as a Financial Fraud Investigator in support of the federal government has played a pivotal role in criminal investigations, surrounding cyber-enabled financial crime, money laundering, human trafficking, identity theft, healthcare fraud, embezzlement, tax/government program fraud, dark web crimes, among others. Stephen’s main area of expertise is combatting money laundering in all its forms. Aside from this, Stephen has been proactive in identifying new and future trends in the world of financial crime. Such trends include the cyber security nexus of financial crimes and its ever-growing relationship in major financial crimes such as Business Email Compromise and the rise of the dark web and the use of virtual currency as a vehicle for facilitation of financial crimes. Stephen has been a leader and a mentor to other investigators teaching them how to uncover fraud internally and externally. Stephen is currently an investigator contracted to the U.S. Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center (GIOC) in Washington D.C.

Alex Wood is currently the CISO for Uplight and has more than 18 years of experience in information security. Previously, he has had managerial, program, and technical roles at several major companies in different verticals. Additionally, Alex has served on the Board of Directors for ISSA International and is a host of the Colorado = Security podcast. Alex is a CISSP and has an MAS in Information Security from the University of Denver.

Robb Reck, MBA, CISSP, is an information security and risk professional, with over 20 years of experience in IT, Compliance, and Information Security. Reck has created comprehensive application security programs for multiple financial institutions.

Deidre Diamond is the founder and CEO of CyberSN, the largest cybersecurity talent acquisition technology and services firm in the U.S., transforming job searching and hiring for the cybersecurity industry. Standardizing all cybersecurity job functions into a common taxonomy of 45 roles, the CyberSN platform allows professionals to make anonymous, public profiles that match with employer-posted job descriptions using the same taxonomy. This innovation is disruptive and solves a serious national security issue. Deidre’s leadership style combines 25 years of experience working in technology and staffing, her love of the cybersecurity community, and a genuine enthusiasm for people. She has led large-scale sales and operations and built high-performance teams at Rapid7 and Motion Recruitment prior to founding her own organizations. She believes a company-culture established on ‘anything is possible’ attitudes and open communication frameworks, along with positive energy, career advancement, and kindness, enables her teams to have fun at work and reach beyond peak performance. She also encourages the use of EQ (Emotional Intelligence) skills: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, social skills, and empathy. Deidre has also founded SecureDiversity.org, a non-profit organization working to raise awareness for, and increase the hiring of, women and underrepresented humans in the cybersecurity workforce. She has also spoken at some of the biggest tech summits, conferences, and podcasts in the world including ISC2 Congress, RSA, ISSA International, and Hacker Halted.

Chris Hetner is a Senior Executive, Board Director, and leader in Cybersecurity recognized for raising cyber risk to the Corporate Board level to protect industries, infrastructures, and economies. He creates operational resilience by aligning robust Cybersecurity strategies with business objectives. Mr. Hetner’s professional judgment combined with a public company perspective and SEC regulatory and investor oversight experience has led to his success in corporate and government roles. Currently, he is on the board of directors of a PE Fund TCIG, a Senior Advisor for the Chertoff Group, the Special Advisor for Cyber Risk for the NACD, Chair Cybersecurity and Privacy for the NASDAQ Center for Board Excellence, National Board Member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and Research Affiliate with MIT Sloan School of Management.

Throughout his career, Mr. Hetner has created and launched Cybersecurity programs in the public and private sectors. As business functions transfer to the cloud, he has consistently elevated the issue of enterprise-wide preparedness and continuity to Boards and Executive Management teams. The Covid-19 global pandemic has magnified cyber risks across sectors. Based on the growth of the distributed workforce and the increase in the prevalence of bad actors, the threat and severity levels of cyber breaches have become a security and operational resilience priority.

He served as the Senior Cybersecurity Advisor to the Chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and as Head of Cybersecurity for the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examination at the SEC. He also represented the Chair of the SEC as a senior member of the US Department of the Treasury Financial Banking Information Infrastructure Committee. His greatest contributions included vision for and implementation of the first agency wide Cybersecurity governance structure, threat intelligence program, and incident response capabilities. The Cybersecurity framework he implemented improved the National Examination Program’s ability to monitor and respond to Cyber risks and threats across the US Securities market.

Mr. Hetner has also led efforts across financial, regulatory, and government agencies to enhance Cybersecurity coordination in the financial services sector. He successfully led diverse teams, in multiple global locations, through transformative thinking about cyber-risk management, Cybersecurity policy, and regulatory compliance to embrace change and become cultures of action and collaboration. He established governance and risk management structures aligned with strategy and business objectives, while integrating resilience into corporate DNA.

Mr. Hetner’s thought leadership is actively sought by governments, private and public entities, industry associations, and media outlets as the threats to critical infrastructure and economies increase. Throughout his career he has shared his professional expertise by mentoring students at Columbia University, New York University, Fordham School of Law, and Pace University.

He is a Certified Information Security Manager (ISACA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (ISC2), and holds a high-level USA security clearance. Mr. Hetner earned a MS, cum laude, in Information Assurance from Norwich University and a BS in Security Management from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Lisa Plaggemier is Executive Director at the National Cybersecurity Alliance. She is a recognized thought leader in security awareness and education with a track record of engaging and empowering people to protect themselves, their families, and their organizations. Lisa is a University of Michigan graduate (Go Blue!) and while she wasn’t born in Austin, Texas, she got there as fast as she could.

Founder of a strategic risk consultancy after serving 26 years in the US Air Force, Cedric Leighton oversaw numerous critical intelligence missions throughout his career. He served at US Special Operations Command, the Joint Staff and the National Security Agency, where he helped train the nation's cyber warriors. A Middle East combat veteran, he is the recipient of numerous military awards, including the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Bronze Star.

Currently, Cedric advises multinational businesses on cyber attacks and the management of complex global strategies to reduce risk and unpredictability.

VJ Viswanathan is a seasoned technology executive recognized and awarded for innovation, business capability transformation and thoughtful mentorship. Most recently, VJ is the founding partner at CYFORIX, a global cybersecurity research, advisory & strategic consulting firm delivering solutions to public and private sectors. He also serves as the CEO at TORQE, a specialized advisory firm focused on analytics, automation and convergent technologies. VJ is the co-host of ELEVATEINTEL, a podcast series at the nexus of technology, social and defense.

With over 25 years of pioneering Enterprise technology, Cyber Security, Privacy, Compliance and Risk Management experience, VJ has a detailed track record of designing, implementing and leading highly successful programs, products & services at multinational Fortune 100 brands spanning CPG, Telecom, Media, Supply-chain, Health care & Finance segments. As a strategic thought leader, VJ has delivered the first of its kind "Supply Chain Security" & “Omni-channel Risk management” frameworks. As a published author and featured keynote speaker at global industry events, he approaches disruptive digital paradigms with innovation, creativity and active collaboration with his key industry peers, researchers, national & international law enforcement and defense groups.

VJ is an active mentor at various incubators & accelerators groups, serves as an advisory Board member for growth stage companies. As a strategic adviser to VC & PE firms, he specializes in developing market analysis, competitive product road map and guides in opportunity mapping. As a Board member and subject matter advisor to CEOs and Corporate directors, VJ evaluates and audits enterprise technology and cyber security program for veracity and operational effectiveness.

VJ is passionate about animal rights and giving back to the technology & security industry. He has created a rescue & foster care group for large breed dogs. He is actively engaged with academic institutions and purpose driven professional groups like ‘Minorities in Cyber security’, where he serves as the Board member and chair of mentorship programs to develop the next generation talent through coaching and facilitating scholarships for technology & cyber security education.