2024 Fall Summit | Cyber Initiatives Group

Fall Summit

12-3P

— Wednesday, September 25, 2024 —

The Cyber Initiatives Group (CIG) is an organization of cyber leaders with deep public and private sector experience who work together toward a more secure cyber future.

Summit Agenda

Agenda subject to change.

More details coming soon.

12:00 – 12:15 / What’s Top of Mind for the Experts

A quick ask of each guest about what’s top of mind for each person

Rob Joyce, Suzanne Spaulding, Andy Boyd, Matt Hayden, Mark Montgomery, Kelly Bissell

12:15 – 1:00 / A Candid Conversation with Matt Olsen

Matt Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for National Security
Moderated by Suzanne Kelly, Cipher Brief CEO & Publisher

1:00 – 2:00 / The Wild Ride to the Presidential Election

Brandon Wales, Former Executive Director, CISA
Suzanne Spaulding, Former DHS Undersecretary for the National Protections and Programs Directorate
John Carlin, Former Assistant Attorney General for National Security, DOJ
Mark Montgomery, Former Executive Director of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission
Moderated by Matt Hayden, Former Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Cyber,

2:00 – 3:00 / The Convergence of Ransomware,

Extortion & AI

Cynthia Kaiser, Deputy Assistant Director for Cyber, FBI
Rob Joyce, Former Director of Cybersecurity, National Security Agency
Andrew Boyd, Former Director of the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence
Moderated by Katrina Manson, Cyber and Emerging Tech Reporter, Bloomberg

3:00 / Wrap up and thank you

Thank you. Find out how to get involved at

www.cyberinitiativesgroup.com

Summit Speakers

Kelly Bissell

Fraud and Abuse Lead, Microsoft

Kelly Bissell joined Microsoft as CVP in 2022.

Prior to this, Bissell led Accenture’s Global Security business and oversaw security services including strategic consulting, cyber defense, digital identity, response and remediation services, and managed security services. With more than 25 years of security industry experience, Bissell specializes in breach incident response, identity management, privacy and data protection, secure software development, and cyber risk management. His role at Accenture spanned strategic consulting, proactive risk management and digital identity to cyber defense, response and remediation services, and managed security services—across all industries.

Rob Joyce

Former Director of Cybersecurity, National Security Agency

Rob served 34 years at the NSA, where he spent his final years as the head of the Agency’s cybersecurity directorate. He also served on the White House National Security Council as a Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator, as well as Acting Homeland Security Advisor. Throughout his career, he led operations pursuing the most sophisticated hackers and innovated technologies to protect vital national assets — including the the US classified networks and nuclear authorization codes. He remains dedicated to upholding our national security in the cyber realm.

Matt Olsen

Assistant Attorney General for National Security

Matt Olsen is the Assistant Attorney General for National Security. In that capacity, he leads the Department of Justice’s mission to combat terrorism, espionage, cyber crime, and other threats to the national security.

From 2011 to 2014, Olsen served as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Prior to leading NCTC, Olsen was the General Counsel for the National Security Agency.

For 18 years, Olsen worked at the Department of Justice as a career attorney and in a number of leadership positions. He served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General for national security and was Special Counselor to the Attorney General. In 2006, Olsen helped establish the National Security Division and served as the first career Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

RADM Mark Montgomery (Ret.)

Former Executive Director, U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission

Mark Montgomery formerly served as the Executive Director of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. Before this position, he served as Policy Director for the Senate Armed Services Committee under the leadership of Senator John S. McCain. In this position he coordinated policy efforts on national defense strategy, capabilities and requirements, defense policy and cyber issues. Mark served for 32 years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear trained surface warfare officer, retiring as a Rear Admiral in 2017. His flag officer assignments included Director of Operations (J3) at U. S. Pacific Command; Commander of Carrier Strike Group 5 embarked on the USS George Washington stationed in Japan; and Deputy Director, Plans, Policy and Strategy (J5), at U. S. European Command. He was selected as a White House Fellow and assigned to the National Security Council, serving as Director for Transnational Threats from 1998-2000. Mark graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history. He subsequently earned a master’s degree in history from Oxford University, and completed the U.S. Navy’s nuclear power training program.

Brandon Wales

Vice President for Cybersecurity Strategy, SentinelOne

Brandon Wales is Vice President for Cybersecurity Strategy at SentinelOne, where he leads its strategic advisory work helping companies tackle some of the hardest cybersecurity challenges. Brandon has 20+ years of experience advancing the U.S. national security interests at the highest level of the federal government. most recently as the Executive Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). He is regularly sought after to convey the most complex and high-stakes cybersecurity issues to Congress, the media, and corporate leadership. Brandon has also served as the Acting Director of CISA, Senior Counselor for Cybersecurity to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Acting Chief of Staff for the Department of Homeland Security, and Director of the Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis. He is a recipient of the Presidential Rank Award and was a finalist for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal.

Cynthia Kaiser

Deputy Assistant Director, FBI Cyber Division

Cynthia Kaiser is a Deputy Assistant Director with FBI Cyber Division, where she
oversees national-level cyber policy, analysis of cyber threats, and
partner engagement.

Cynthia has covered cyber, technology, and counterintelligence issues for
over 17 years for the FBI, served as a PDB Briefer in two presidential
administrations, and has led FBI cyber threat analysis and served as an
FBI election lead since 2017. In this role, she has reshaped FBI information
sharing and collaboration with the private sector and federal, state, and
local government officials to be robust, proactive, and aimed at imposing
risks and consequences on malicious cyber actors.

Cynthia holds a Master’s degree in security policy focused on science and
technology and an Executive Master’s degree in leadership.

John Carlin

Cipher Brief Expert, Partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Former Cipher Brief Expert John P. Carlin currently serves as the U.S. Acting Deputy Attorney General. He formerly chaired Morrison & Foerster’s Global Risk and Crisis Management practice, advising industry-leading organizations in sensitive cyber and other national security matters, white collar investigations, and government enforcement actions. He is author of Dawn of the Code War: America’s Battle Against Russia, China and the Rising Global Cyber Threat.

Mr. Carlin previously served as Assistant Attorney General for National Security, overseeing nearly 400 employees responsible for protecting the nation against terrorism, espionage, and cyber and other national security threats. During his tenure, the National Security Division (NSD): investigated the attack on Sony Entertainment’s computer systems; secured the first federal jury conviction on charges brought under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996; and led DOJ’s participation on the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States.

Prior to assuming his role in the NSD, Mr. Carlin served as Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel to Robert S. Mueller, III, former director of the FBI, where he helped lead the FBI’s evolution to meet growing and changing national security threats, including cyber threats. Mr. Carlin also held positions as National Coordinator of the DOJ’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Program and Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he prosecuted cyber, fraud, and public corruption matters, among others, trying more than 40 cases to verdict.

Suzanne Spaulding

Senior Adviser, Homeland Security, International Security Program

Suzanne Spaulding is senior adviser for homeland security and director of the Defending Democratic Institutions project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She also serves as a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. Previously, she served as undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where she led the National Protection and Programs Directorate, now called the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), managing a $3 billion budget and a workforce of 18,000 that is charged with strengthening cybersecurity and protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, including election infrastructure. Ms. Spaulding has worked in the executive branch in Republican and Democratic administrations and on both sides of the aisle in Congress. She was general counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and minority staff director for the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She also spent six years at the Central Intelligence Agency, where she was assistant general counsel and the legal adviser to the director’s Nonproliferation Center. She was executive director of two congressionally created commissions, on weapons of mass destruction and on terrorism. Following the attacks of 9/11, Ms. Spaulding worked with key critical infrastructure sectors as they reviewed their security posture and advised the CEOs of the Business Roundtable. In 2002, she was appointed by Governor Mark Warner of Virginia to the Secure Commonwealth Panel to advise the governor and the legislature regarding preparedness issues. She was managing partner of the Harbour Group, a principal in the Bingham Consulting Group, and of counsel to Bingham McCutchen LLP. In addition to her work at CSIS, Ms. Spaulding currently serves on a number of corporate boards and advisory boards and is a member of the Homeland Security Experts Group (HSEG).

Andrew Boyd

Former Senior Intelligence Service Officer, Directorate of Operations, CIA

Andy Boyd was a Senior Intelligence Service officer in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Operations (DO). His most recent assignment was Director of the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI) which is responsible for intelligence collection, analysis, and operations focused on foreign cyber threats to US interests. This position required regular interaction with DCIA, the White House, Congress, and senior officials from DoD, FBI, DHS, and an array of senior foreign partners from across the globe.

Andy has experience leading worldwide intelligence operations and has in-depth knowledge of geopolitics, cyber operations, and security practices and risk mitigation. He is a respected thought leader within the USG cyber and intelligence communities with expertise in cyber threats, intelligence collection, covert action, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, cyber operations and strategic analysis.

Summit Hosts

Suzanne Kelly

Co-host

CEO and Publisher, The Cipher Brief

Matt Hayden

Vice Co-host

Former A/S of Homeland Security for Cyber, Infrastructure, Risk and Resilience Policy

CIG Principal