National cyber strategy, collaboration initiatives loom large at RSA conference in San Francisco

By Sara Friedman / April 21, 2023 at 12:03 PM

The annual RSA conference in San Francisco kicks off Monday with a focus this year on the national cyber strategy, operational collaboration, hardware and software security and more in keynote sessions and panels running through Thursday.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency cyber leader Eric Goldstein and acting Principal Deputy National Cyber Director Rob Knake participate in a Wednesday session on the national cyber strategy. It also features State Department cyber official Liesyl Franz and the FBI’s Bryan Vorndran.

Hardware security and software supply chain security are among the hot topics Monday at the RSA Security Conference.

The Information Technology Industry Council’s Courtney Lang moderates a session on what’s next for hardware security following the CHIPS Act featuring NIST’s Jon Boyens, Amit Elazari of Intel and National Security Council official Steven Kelly, while Office of the National Cyber Director official Camille Stewart Gloster participates in a panel on how to secure the software supply chain.

CISA’s Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative is in the spotlight with a Monday panel moderated by CISA’s Maria Probst. It features Jason Barrett of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Stephanie Kiel of Google and Robert Sheldon of CrowdStrike.

Monday’s sessions also include a keynote from former CISA Director Chris Krebs and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on the Justice Department’s approach to evolving cyber threats, and CISA’s Goldstein with Cyber National Mission Force Commander Major Gen. William Hartman discussing the partnership between CISA and U.S. Cyber Command.

The FBI’s Vorndran moderates a panel on hardening AI/ML and Dragos CEO Robert Lee provides an update in a separate session on the industrial cyber threat landscape.

On Tuesday, keynotes focus on responsible AI, cryptocurrencies, cybersecurity and the music industry, and an overview on next-generation tactics, techniques and procedures from CrowdStrike.

There’s also a panel on the U.S. national cyber label program for consumer connected devices featuring the Consumer Technology Association’s David Grossman and Michael Bergman, Intel’s Elazari, NIST’s Katerina Megas and Eric Tamarkin of Samsung.

Other Tuesday sessions include NSA cyber director Rob Joyce moderating a panel on building international coalitions to scale defense, a panel on aviation industry issues, Software Bill of Materials with Charis Blask of Cybeats and Kate Stewart of the Linux Foundation, a discussion on cyber insurance claims trends and an FBI-led panel on the U.S.-Ukraine cyber partnership.

Wednesday’s schedule features a panel on the Cyber Safety Review Board featuring DHS Under Secretary for Policy Rob Silvers and Google’s Heather Adkins. Keynotes include a panel on cyber diplomacy and Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia providing a year-in-review on the state of cybersecurity.

The diplomacy panel features State Department cyber leader Nate Fick, Nathalie Jaarsma from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Mandia and Wendi Whitmore of Palo Alto Networks.

Another Wednesday panel focuses on systemically important critical infrastructure with former CISA officials Bob Kolasky and Daniel Kroese, Norma Krayem of Van Scoyoc Associates and Henry Willis of the RAND Corp. ONCD official Cheri Caddy and McCrary Institute’s Frank Cilluffo participate in a separate session on the Energy Department’s National Cyber-Informed Engineering Strategy.

Representatives from the healthcare industry respond on Wednesday to the latest cyber proposals from the Securities and Exchange Commission, while ONCD’s Stewart Gloster participates in a session on diversity and inclusion with Walmart’s Rob Duhart.

NSA’s Joyce speaks at a Wednesday track session called “State of the Hack 2023 -- NSA's Perspective.”

Thursday highlights include Cheri Pascoe and Amy Mahn discussing what’s next for the NIST cybersecurity framework; officials from the FBI and the Defense, Treasury and Energy departments on operational collaboration; and an exploration of the Federal Aviation Administration’s cyber efforts.

There’s also a keynote panel on ransomware featuring CSIS’ Suzanne Spaulding and Glen Gerstell, Tenable’s Robert Huber, Phyllis Schneck of Northrop Grumman and Preston Golson of the Brunswick Group. NIST Director Laurie Locascio participates in an afternoon keynote panel focused on setting standards, while ONCD’s Stewart Gloster moderates a session on developing the cyber workforce strategy.

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