The Curse of Knowledge: What Do They Mean When They Say AI?

A data scientist has joined a team of cybersecurity experts. He knows next to nothing about cybersecurity. But the world of cybersecurity is suddenly fixated on artificial intelligence. Every cybersecurity vendor is talking about their new AI-powered capabilities. A data scientist wants to tell you, what do these vendors really mean when they say AI?

AI: Your Ally in the Cyber Wars

In a world where cyberattacks are intensifying daily, AI-driven techniques and calculated distruptions from adversaries are redefining how organizations must approach cybersecurity. In 2024, the Unit 42 response team handled 500+ of the world's largest cyberattacks, 86% of which directly impacted busines operations. Leveraging insights from these incidents, the 2025 unit 42 global incident response report delivers an in-depth analysis of the evolving threat landscape and attacker's tactics and techniques. 

Navigating Regulatory Uncertainty in AI Governance

What does AI governance look like in the current regulatory environment? This talk examines various themes on governing AI, and attempts to make practical recommendations in an absence of regulatory guidance. 

Presented by - Josh Colvin & Trevor Cross, AE Business Solutions

Recently, a report was released that indicated that nearly 90% of enterprise GenAI use in an enterprise environment is done without proper IT oversight. This is the modern equivalent of Shadow IT, a battle that network defenders have been fighting since the inception of time. We thought we had the problem under control. We thought better monitoring and logging would prevent things like this. We thought we had the technical measures in place to prevent this. We were wrong. A statistic that high indicates a need to rethink enterprise security on all fronts. Like it or not, AI is here to stay…so how can we adapt and overcome this time?

Presented By - Joe Hopper, Principal Security Consultant - Fracture Labs

Despite years of security training, password policies, and technical controls, users are still choosing bad passwords and handing them over to attackers. In this talk, we'll share what we've learned from the past seven years of real-world security assessments:

- How password complexity and user behavior are evolving

- Why some policies make things worse

- How attackers are adapting through the more efficient use of technology.

You'll see how we use comprehensive wordlists, advanced rulesets, and — increasingly — AI to break even well-crafted credentials. But the problem doesn't stop at passwords. We'll also explore how phishing techniques are evolving thanks to AI and how even MFA can be phished and bypassed.

To wrap up, we'll share practical, forward-looking recommendations:

- How to fix your organization's security culture problem

- How to implement password policies that frustrate attackers, not your users

- How to choose phishing-resistant authentication methods

Whether you're managing a mature security program or still wrangling weak passwords, this talk will give you actionable insight into what's working, what's not, and what's next.

Presented By - Kevin Jacque, Strategic Channel Solutions Engineer - CyberArk

Machine identity security is a critical component of cybersecurity, ensuring that non-human entities- such as applications, services, and devices, are authenticated and protected.  This presentation will explore key topics, including certificate lifecycle management, crypto agility, and the growing threat of unmanaged and compromised machine identities. Attendees will gain insights into industry best practices, emerging trends, and strategies for securing an increasingly automated and interconnected digital landscape. 

Presented By - Kurt Patz, Security Architect - AE Business Solutions

How we learned the potential of "nothing" to solve problems classical computers couldn't solve in a million years and we only had to commit scientific heresy to do it. 

Presented By - Tim Woods, VP of Technology Alliances - FireMon

The role of IT security is constantly evolving, especially in today’s hybrid enterprise environments. When reporting to the C-suite, it is essential to include not only how the company manages change visibility and complexity but also how it ensures the security policies that govern these systems are well-maintained and effective. Cybercriminals often exploit misconfigurations, human errors, and exposed vulnerabilities—issues that can arise from both unnecessary complexity and poor policy hygiene. These vulnerabilities often go unnoticed in complex, rapidly changing environments.

In this presentation, we will discuss strategies to reduce complexity while enhancing security visibility, particularly through the lens of attack surface management. A critical aspect of managing the attack surface is maintaining clean and well-managed enforcement security policies. Real-time Life Cycle Management of network security policies help eliminate gaps in coverage, misconfigurations, and outdated controls that threat actors frequently target. By combining policy hygiene with automation and comprehensive change visibility, organizations can reduce the opportunity for exploitation and proactively secure their ever-expanding attack surface. Ultimately, simplifying the security landscape, along with maintaining robust security policies, not only improves visibility but also strengthens the organization’s defenses against evolving threats.

Presented By - Shane Harsch, Principal Solutions Architect - SentinelOne

Experience the next frontier of cybersecurity at Mortal vs Machine, where cutting-edge technology meets human expertise. At the heart of this electrifying competition is Purple AI, SentinelOne’s revolutionary AI security analyst that propels security operations to unprecedented heights.

In a series of dynamic matchups, Mortal vs Machine pits seasoned security professionals against audience volunteers—each equipped with the rapid, AI-driven capabilities of Purple AI. The question is simple yet game-changing: can advanced, AI-augmented threat detection outperform the nuanced insights of human analysts?

Purple AI reshapes traditional security practices—like threat hunting and incident investigations—by transforming them into intuitive, natural-language conversations. Its advanced generative AI empowers users of any skill level to uncover hidden threats, analyze complex logs, and detect anomalies through straightforward prompts. Even those new to query languages can instantly investigate potential breaches with confidence.

Picture the synergy: experienced security veterans facing off against volunteers augmented by Purple AI. Participants witness firsthand how effortlessly Purple AI streamlines threat investigations—often outpacing the speed and accuracy of experts. Each session is a testament to Purple AI’s power, drawing massive crowds and generating buzz at high-profile events like Black Hat and RSA.

The Mortal vs Machine competition showcases Purple AI as a force multiplier that dramatically reduces mean time to detect and respond. By removing the hurdles of complex query languages and accelerating threat analysis, Purple AI positions itself as an essential ally for security teams.

Step into this immersive experience to see, participate, and compare the difference between conventional threat hunting and a future driven by AI. With Purple AI, your SOC operations will never be the same—enjoy faster, more precise threat detection, comprehensive data protection, and robust privacy protocols.

Join us at our next Mortal vs Machine event to discover how Purple AI can revolutionize your security operations—smarter, faster, and more efficient than ever before. Embrace autonomous cybersecurity with SentinelOne’s Purple AI and experience how human expertise measures up against machine intelligence.

Presented By - Branden Timm, Security Architect - AE Business Solutions

This talk will present a practical guide to leverage Large Language Model (LLM) code generation for IT and Security professionals. A real world security incident will be used as an example problem to explore the technique, with particular emphasis given to how to trust code that was written by an LLM.

Presented By - John Urbanek, Senior Director of Solutions Architecture & Engineering - AE Business Solutions

Modern DNS has come a long way from RFC882-883 in 1984. The worlds largest distributed database has become a mass surveillance and marketing tool and way to circumvent security controls. Carriers are selling your DNS data for marketing purposes. Threat actors use DNS for command-and-control and data exfiltration. How can an enterprise best protect itself?

Presented By - Alec Vandeleest, Security Engineer - AE Business Solutions

Cloud AI products face many of the same IT security challenges that SaaS solutions have for decades. As well as brings new IT security challenges. An overview of SaaS security, the tooling, and the how these ideas are changing with the introduction of Cloud AI.

Presented By - Curtis Wray, Staff Enterprise Security Architect - Proofpoint

AI models like DeepSeek, Grok, and ChatGPT are rapidly evolving, pushing the boundaries of technology while introducing new challenges for data security. How can organizations harness the power of AI while ensuring compliance and protecting sensitive data? This session delves into strategies for data security tailored to the risks and opportunities of AI. Join us to learn: emerging trends in AI and how to safely integrate these tools into your enterprise environment, Best practices for securing data in the era of generative AI, How a top retail organization leveraged GenAI for enhanced security 

Presented By - Bino Gopal, Solutions Architect - Cloudflare

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations must balance cost optimization with robust security while also reducing complexity and unlocking the full value of their data to stay competitive. This session explores real-world examples of organizations that have streamlined their technology stacks, simplified operations, and advanced business outcomes—without sacrificing security or performance.  We'll dive into: - key innovations, form actionable threat intelligence to post-quantum cryptography considerations, and showcase strategies for securing applications, networks, and remore workforces, - How modern security solutions can only fortify your defenses but also simplify infrastructure, reduce operational overhead, and extract meningful insights from data to drive smarter business decisions

Presented By - Dan Placek, Cloud & DevOps Practice Lead - AE Business Solutions

In this talk you'll learn how to deliver security automation quickly using AI tools, even if software development isn't your day job. The demand for automation often outstrips the capacity to create it -- how do we catch up?

Presented By - Shane Sax, CISO - Racine County

In the modern Security Operations Center (SOC), the challenge isn’t choosing between human analysts and AI-driven tools—it’s learning how to harness both effectively. This session explores how to process overwhelming volumes of cybersecurity data into actionable intelligence by combining human insight with machine efficiency. Attendees will gain insights into building workflows that empower entry-level talent, enhance decision-making, and cultivate a next-generation SOC where humans and machines work in true partnership. Perfect for those looking to strengthen their cyber teams and better navigate today’s complex threat landscape.

This invite only session brings together cybersecurity leaders to discuss the latest industry trends, top of mind organizational problems, and best practice questions.