Nebraska Cyber Security Conference

New Location

Nebraska Innovation Campus (NIC) Conference Center
2021 Transformation Drive, Lincoln NE

First Floor Map (PDF)

Second Floor Map (PDF)

Please review the Parking Information for all of the parking options around the Conference Center.

Anticipating and Responding to Today and Tomorrow’s Cyber Threat Space

Jon Ford

Managing Director, Global Government Services & Insider Threat Risk Solutions, Mandiant
Jon is a seasoned security leader with more than 25 years of experience helping organizations become more resilient to attacks orchestrated by foreign governments, organized criminal groups, and insider threats. Jon serves as the Global Government Senior Executive to Mandiant’s multi-lateral partnerships and Pinnacle clients. Jon leads operations, strategy and solutions for our global partners. Jon leads the Insider Threat risk offerings for Mandiant, globally. He is regarded as a trusted advisor who coaches boards and executives on how to measure and manage enterprise risk. He regularly speaks at industry conferences and advises journalists on cybersecurity matters. Jon is a member of the Geneva Dialogue on Responsible Behaviour in Cyberspace and the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise. He is the founder of Mandiant's Elevate program to advance women in IT security into senior leadership and Board positions.

Are You Prepared for a Cyberattack?
Presenters: Kyle Wacker & Ben Bowman, Heartland Business Systems
There will be a brief description of Cyber Security issues and Top 10 areas for concern.
Experience Level: Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced

CMMC 2.0 - Understanding the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification
Presenter: Jon O'Keefe, Logical Operations
The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification should already be on your radar, whether you are currently a member of the Defense Industrial Base as a business, or you are evaluating your career options in cybersecurity as you enter the workforce. This wide sweeping cybersecurity ecosystem will be impacting almost all businesses starting in 2023, and it has the potential to unlock millions of careers! In this presentation, we will cover the basics of CMMC, how the transition from CMMC 1.0 to 2.0 has broadened the scope and career potential of the CMMC ecosystem, and how you can unlock your potential by getting involved in CMMC. For business owners, you’re going to see exactly how you can start getting ready for CMMC, and who inside your organization is going to be responsible for making sure you can continue to bid on Federal Contracts. Anyone can benefit from learning about the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, from C suite down to the graduating cybersecurity student.
Experience Level: Beginner, Intermediate

Cyber Incident Response Planning: Developing a Plan that Works
Presenter: AmyLynn Creaney, State of Nebraska
Have you been tasked with developing a cyber incident response plan, or have you inherited the responsibility of updating an existing plan after a cybersecurity incident or audit? Developing an effective cyber incident response plan can be challenging and seem overwhelming. When people reach out to me for planning support, I’m often asked the same three questions; “where do I start,” “what needs to be included" and “do you have a template?” Developing a response plan using a template seems like an easy professional life hack. Unfortunately, templates alone do not make effective plans. I’ll break down the planning process and highlight techniques for developing a cyber incident response plan that works and conforms with federal guidelines (i.e., NIST). I’ll cover key planning decisions-points that impact the effectiveness of the plan and how to avoid planning pitfalls like scope creep. And yes, I’ll provide an outline to assist with organizing your cyber incident response plan.
Experience Level: Beginning, Intermediate

Cyber Tatanka Panel Discussion
Panel: Jim Anderson, City of Lincoln, Ryan Carlson, National Guard, Mathew Field, National Guard, Dustin Thorne, LES, Dana Turner, Union Bank and Trust, Patrick Wright, State of Nebraska
For the first time in Nebraska different levels of government, the military and critical private sector verticals came together for a cyber red team/blue team exercise in order to validate proficiency of cyber response though interactive training in a controlled environment, establish coordination and strengthen the defensive postures for government, businesses and infrastructure in Nebraska. This panel is an after action review to discuss lessons learned and to start the conversation for the next event.

Cyber Threats and FBI Cyber Investigations
Presenter: Alex Herman, FBI
Cyber Security updates and investigations from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Ethical Compliance: A Topic of Titanic Proportions
Presenter: Karla Carter, Bellevue University
Compliance is part of the cybersecurity environment. It's ethical to be in compliance, but mere compliance may not be ethical. Come, sit with us and learn why mere compliance is not enough. (A large proportion of cybersecurity roles are in the GRC space and until we have "Jason Bourne: The Auditor Supremacy" or Jack Rhysider devotes an entire Darknet Diaries episode to a thrilling compliance audit this talk will have to do its part to bring wit and entertainment to the topic of compliance.)
Experience Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Exercise Your Plans: Using Tabletops to Manage Risk
Presenter: Dana Turner, Union Bank and Trust
Tabletop exercises are an effective and inexpensive way to test how your organization will respond to crises ranging from natural disasters and pandemics to cyber-attacks. These exercises should not only be used to improve your company's response procedures, but they should be a part of your overall risk management strategy. In this session, you will be provided with the steps and guidelines for planning and executing an effective tabletop exercise as well as given information on different national level exercises that are available for your company participate in.
Experience Level: Beginner

Implementing Role-Based Network Access Control
Presenters: Matthew Long, Phil Redfern & Neil Brown, University of Nebraska
The University of Nebraska had a unique opportunity to re-invent its network from the ground up. Hear how the team implemented a new role-based network solution for three campus locations, including improving security and installing new network infrastructure in eight months.
Experience Level: Intermediate, Advanced

National Cyber Security Awareness Month and DHS Cyber Security Services
Presenter: Geoff Jenista, Department of Homeland Security/Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
NCSAM topics and DHS Security programs which coordinate cyber preparedness, risk mitigation and incident response.

Out of Sight, Out of Control: Asset Intelligence
Presenter: Mike Bimonte, Armis
This presentation will take you through managing IT asset tracking. Uncover risks and learn tools to control your IT inventory.

“We’ve Been Hit”: Cyber-Attacks Targeting Manufacturing and Utility Infrastructures and Priorities
Presenter: Keith Mandachit, Huffman Engineering Inc.
Cyber attacks are on the increase and infrastructure systems are a hot target. This Nebraska case study will highlight a ransomware cyber-attack Huffman Engineering helped get back online and discuss opportunities to mitigate risk through prioritization.
Experience Level: Intermediate

Zero Trust Internet - The Silver Bullet
Presenter: Michael Rider, Menlo Security
Government guidance on Zero Trust Security Architecture is gaining momentum, but changes in how we work (remote teleworking) and evolving cyber threats HEATing up will continue to impact Zero Trust guidance. Today’s threat landscape means that private and public sector organizations can no longer rely on their users or on detection-based security tools to protect their users, critical data and systems from attacks. Rather than trying to identify threats as malware after they’ve breached the perimeter, Zero Trust Internet works by routing all web traffic through a cloud-based remote browser before delivering only safe content to the endpoint. It doesn’t matter if the web content is good or bad, categorized or uncategorized—Web Isolation Platforms should adopt Zero Trust principles by assuming that all content is malicious and treating it accordingly. This guarantees that no web-borne threat ever reaches the end user.
Experience Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

ZTNA with ClearPass
Presenter: Travis Thompson, Aruba Networks
Zero Trust Network Access is the new frontier of edge security. Join Aruba Network for a discussion on the dual facets of network identity management and network access control.
Experience Level: Beginner, Intermediate

Jim Anderson, City of Lincoln

- Cyber Tatanka Panel

Mike Bimonte, Armis
Mike Bimonte brings a diverse perspective to Armis as the CTO for SLED, with more than 30 years of IT experience in both Public and Private sector roles. Most recently Mike came to Armis from his role as Deputy Commissioner with the New Yor City Dept. of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT). He spent close to 20 years modernizing, consolidating and transforming DoITT into a world class service provider for both City agencies and the 8+ million residents of New Yor City. His ability to relate with public sector clientele based on real life experiences and provide his own unique perspective has proven invaluable to State and Local governments across the globe. Prior to his role with the City of New York, Mike spent time in the Financial Services industry and with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mike is a native New Yorker, born and raised in New York City and now resides in New Jersey with his family.

- Out of Sight, Out of Control: Asset Intelligence

Ben Bowman, Heartland Business Systems

- Are You Prepared for a Cyberattack?

Neil Brown, University of Nebraska

- Implementing Role-Based Network Access Control

Karla Carter, Bellevue University
Karla Carter is an Associate Professor of Cybersecurity in the College of Science and Technology at Bellevue University, in Bellevue, NE. Armed with an MS in Cybersecurity, Security+ and SANS Security Awareness Professional certifications, and drawing on more years than she should admit to of information technology experience, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in cybersecurity operations, social engineering and human factors, security awareness, web security, technology ethics, and—in a plot twist you didn't see coming—occasionally history and civics. She is curious, intense and irreverent, and has never met a dad joke she didn't laugh at.

- Ethical Compliance: A Topic of Titanic Proportions

Ryan Carlson, National Guard

- Cyber Tatanka Panel

AmyLynn Creaney, State of Nebraska
AmyLynn Creaney is the Enterprise Continuity Manager for the State of Nebraska, serving since 2016. She is a certified Master Business Continuity Professional through the Disaster Recovery Institute International and the recipient of an honorary “Admiralship” from Governor Ricketts for her excellence in leadership in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

AmyLynn’s consultation and planning support led the Nebraska Office of the Chief Information Officer to be recognized by the Digital States Survey for the team's outstanding work in the category of Disaster Recovery and Continuity of Operations in 2020.

AmyLynn brings extensive professional experience in all aspects of emergency management and is recognized for her effective management of planning projects to develop all-hazard operations plans, continuity of operations plans and disaster recovery plans.

She previously served as a government contractor providing EM/HS capabilities analysis, operational planning and incident response support to Commander, Navy Region Midwest and FEMA Region 5 (Chicago, IL).

- Cyber Incident Planning: Developing a Plan that Works

Mathew Field, National Guard

- Cyber Tatanka Panel

Alex Herman, FBI

- Cyber Threats and FBI Cyber Investigations

Geoff Jenista, Department of Homeland Security/Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security
Mr. Jenista serves as the Regional Cyber Security Advisor for Region VII (IA, KS, MO, and NE) for the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Integrated Operations Division. Based in Kansas City, KS, he supports the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) mission of strengthening the security and resilience of the nation's critical infrastructure. His programs coordinate cyber preparedness, risk mitigation and incident response. He provides Cyber Security resource briefings, Cyber Security assessments and Incident Response planning to the nation's 16 critical infrastructure sectors and state, local, tribal, and territorial government entities.

- National Cyber Security Awareness Month and DHS Cyber Security Services

Matthew Long, University of Nebraska
Matthew is the ISO & Senior Security Architect for the University of Nebraska System. The system supports campus locations in Kearney, Lincoln and Omaha as well as numerous Research Centers and Extension sites throughout the state. The user population consists of 51,000+ students and 16,000+ staff while the environment consists of 10,000+ access points and 2,300+ switches located in 325+ buildings across 41 different locations. Matthew has presented on a range of security related topics over the last few years.

- Implementing Role-Based Network Access Control

Keith Mandachit, Huffman Engineering Inc.
Keith Mandachit serves on Huffman Engineering’s Leadership Team in the role of Engineering Manager. He has worked on projects for customers ranging from pharmaceutical production and packaging to food handling, upgrade on both industrial and utility production facilities. He has extensive training in Rockwell, Schneider and Siemens products and their application integrating full industrial and utility production facilities and synchronizing plant intelligence and data analytics. His expertise is in designing and creating operator interface screens for several different platforms, designing and programming PLCs, and his ability to train customer personnel on complicated systems is second to none.

As the Engineering Manager at Huffman Engineering, Inc. Mandachit leads the entire engineering team, managing project oversight, training and development, internal IT oversight and coordination of technical resources. He has developed and implemented intranet tools allowing enhanced sharing opportunities for project management, human resources, and engineering information. His exceptional mind for Making Ideas Work, the more challenging the better, make him a sought-after resource to some of the biggest global names in the pharmaceutical and life science world.

Mandachit lead the development of a state-of-the-art training and testing room at Huffman Engineering’s facility, which supports customer demonstrations, new engineer and student co-op training, and project team testing and checkout capabilities.

- “We’ve Been Hit”: Cyber-Attacks Targeting Manufacturing and Utility Infrastructures and Priorities

Jon O'Keefe, Logical Operations
As the Technology Education Jedi at Logical Operations, Jon is responsible for the design, development and delivery of LO’s emerging technology and cybersecurity courseware portfolios and certifications. He is currently overseeing LO’s CMMC program, where Logical Operations is a Licensed Partner Publisher in the CMMC ecosystem that has authored CMMC Authorized Training Materials. He routinely speaks on cybersecurity and data science at conferences across the globe. He has more than 20 years of experience in IT and Education. He holds a Master’s in Education Theory and Policy with an emphasis on Curriculum design. He also is a Master Modern Classroom Certified Trainer (MCCT) and Master Certified Virtual Educator (CVE) and has helped more than 6,000 trainers and K-12 educators in virtual instruction techniques. He has a passion for storytelling and film and is always informed on the latest and greatest technologies. If you want to win at bar trivia, he is your go to guy.

- CMMC 2.0 - Understanding the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification

Phil Redfern, University of Nebraska

- Implementing Role-Based Network Access Control

Michael Rider, Menlo Security
Mike Rider is a Senior Federal Systems Engineer with Menlo Security. Mike has been working in the Federal; Defense IT / Cyber Security space for more than 21 years, with most of that time spent serving as an Information Systems Technician and a Cryptologic Warfare Officer in the US Navy and US Navy Reserve for nearly 21 years. Some of his noteworthy military assignments include tours at the National Security Agency, U.S. Strategic Command, White House Communications Agency, and Joint Special Operations Command. Prior to joining Menlo Security in October 2021, Mike worked at Tanium for two years and Forcepoint/Websense for seven years. At both companies, he held roles in Sales Engineering and Technical Account Management supporting Federal customers (DoD, IC, FedCiv).

- Zero Trust Internet - The Silver Bullet

Travis Thompson, Aruba Networks
Travis Thompson is a Consulting System Engineer for Aruba Networks covering the Great Plains area. A former Chief Security Officer at LightEdge Solutions, Travis has been actively involved in security/networking design and implementation for more than 25 years working both in the partner community and at the service provider level. He has extensive experience building and deploying comprehensive wired, content delivery and wireless network environments. Following his partner career Travis turned his sights to data center design and management serving as the lead designer for two data center build outs with LightEdge Solutions. Travis is uniquely poised to have seen and participated in numerous network transitions over the span of his career. Building and designing end to end secure networks for some of the largest customers in the Midwest, Travis is pleased to be able to present on the latest trends both in networking and the intelligent network edge and core.

- ZTNA with ClearPass

Dustin Thorne, LES

- Cyber Tatanka Panel

Dana Turner, Union Bank and Trust
Dana Turner, CISSP, is addicted to everything Infosec and has been since before it was cool. He has more than 35 years’ experience in IT and Information/Network Security and is the Network Security Officer for Lincoln, NE-based Union Bank and Trust Company. Dana is passionate about helping to align IT with business objectives, while effectively managing risk and meeting compliance requirements. He also leads the Cyber Security incident response team at UBT guided by his past experiences and training in incident and crisis management as a first responder. As an information security practitioner and IT geek, Dana enjoys giving back to the community by volunteering in a technical and/or information security advisory capacity for various non-profit organizations. Most recently and currently he serves alongside his wife Candie with Wheels 4 Warriors USA, an organization dedicated to stemming the tide of veteran suicides by helping to facilitate motorcycle therapy for our at risk vets.

- Exercise Your Plans: Using Tabletops to Manage Risk
- Cyber Tatanka Panel

Kyle Wacker, Heartland Business Systems
Kyle Wacker has more than 20 years of IT experience. He is currently the Director of Enterprise Security & Risk Management at Heartland Business Systems in Dallas County, Iowa. A graduate of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, he has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Networking & Communications. His experience includes Cisco/Aruba Networking, wireless, security, designing/deploying secure network/data center architectures. He’s also a 10+ year CCIE veteran in lead security practice in governance, risk and compliance/incident response, pen testing, vulnerability testing and more.

- Are You Prepared for a Cyberattack?

Patrick Wright, State of Nebraska

- Cyber Tatanka Panel

Diamond Sponsors

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsors

Diamond Sponsor

$5,000
Limit 2
Premier table location just outside the banquet hall and auditorium
Two complimentary tickets to the conference

Platinum Sponsor

$3,000
Limit 8
Platinum sponsors will be placed in the main entrance breakout room hallway
Two complimentary tickets to the conference

Gold Sponsor

$2,000
Limit 7
Gold sponsors tables will be in the south breakout room hallway
Two complimentary tickets to the conference