2025 Outline Conference Topics will include:
NSM22 Strategies to All Hazards, One Response: Navigating Cyber, Natural, and Man-Made Threats
All Hazards, One Response highlights the interconnectedness of cyber, natural, and man-made threats. It emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach to risk management, resilience, and emergency response. In the context of the new NSM 22 and critical infrastructure, this means developing strategies that address a wide range of threats, fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and implementing robust security measures to protect vital assets.
Collaboration, Information Sharing and Enhancing PPPs
Information sharing and cooperation is crucial for effective risk management and resilience planning. By fostering collaboration among government, operators, and communities, we can enhance the protection of critical infrastructure. However, barriers to information sharing persist. To overcome these challenges, we must build trust and create a supportive environment that encourages open communication and knowledge exchange.
Emerging Threats against CI
This session reviews the dynamic landscape of threats against CI, which include climate, terrorism, insider threats, and cyberattacks including the emerging challenges asserted by AI, which necessitate a proactive approach to security. To effectively address these emerging challenges, it is crucial to identify, monitor, and assess their potential impact. By continuously reviewing and updating policies, practices, and technologies, organizations can enhance their resilience and mitigate risks.
Cybersecurity and AI – Best Practice and Minimum Standards
As the threat of cyber-attacks by state actors grows ever higher and attacks by criminals and malicious rogue players continues unabated the need to put in place robust legislation and standards and best practice becomes all the more urgent. What is the latest on the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act and developing regulations around AI in cybersecurity?
Oil & Gas Sector Symposium
The oil and gas sector faces significant threats and challenges from cyberattacks, physical sabotage, natural disasters, and geopolitical tensions, which pose a constant risk to the industry’s operations and supply chain. Aging infrastructure, lack of cybersecurity expertise, and regulatory complexities further exacerbate these challenges. Protecting CI in this sector requires a comprehensive approach that addresses both physical and cyber threats, investing in resilient infrastructure, and fostering industry collaboration.
Maritime and Port Security Sector Symposium
The Maritime and Port Security Sector is a critical component of national infrastructure. Ports serve as gateways for trade and commerce, while maritime routes facilitate global transportation. To protect this vital sector, robust security measures are essential, including surveillance, law enforcement, and international cooperation. This session will explore the current security threats, as well as risk mitigation through planning, preparation and best practices.
Power & Energy Sector (Grid Resilience) Symposium
The energy sector has become the most critical of sectors. Without power, driven by oil, gas and renewable energies, all other CI stops. Recent cyber attacks on the energy sector, as well as natural hazards, from hurricanes in the Gulf to fires in California, gives much room for thought on how we best protect our most vital assets, including IT/OT and SCADA systems. How can we mitigate the impact of an attack or outage on the wider community and society, and build greater grid resilience?
Transport Sector Symposium
The movement of goods and people is vital to a local and national thriving economy. Without a safe, secure and resilient transport network, an economy will crumble. The transport network, from rail, road, air and sea, is at threat from cyber attacks, terrorist threats and natural hazards and its protection and resilience is key for communities and countries to maintain their economies.
Food & Agriculture Sector Symposium
The Food & Agriculture Sector faces a myriad of threats and risks. Climate change, natural disasters, criminals, and geopolitical tensions can disrupt food production and distribution; having cascading effects on economies. Additionally, cyberattacks and supply chain vulnerabilities pose significant challenges to food and national security. To mitigate these risks, robust measures are essential, including: sustainable farming practices, resilient supply chains, critical infrastructure protection initiatives, and effective risk management strategies.
Communications Sector Symposium
Communications is key to any community and its infrastructure assets has become increasingly threatened. Without communications, business will be lost, and any emergency coordination would be a disaster. The internet has become a vital part of communications for all. Protection of communication assets and their resilience is vital for businesses, government and all sectors of CI.
IT OT Threats
IT-OT convergence in critical infrastructure has increased the risk of cyberattacks. Malicious actors can exploit vulnerabilities in IT systems to compromise operational technology (OT), leading to disruptions, damage, and even safety hazards. To mitigate these threats, organizations must implement robust cybersecurity measures, including network segmentation, access controls, and incident response plans. Fostering collaboration between IT and OT teams is essential for effective risk management.
Strategic Resilience Planning & Risk Mitigation
Being prepared for the changing threat environment can benefit greatly in mitigating its impact on infrastructure and the broader community, ensuring resilience, safety and security. How to we develop and plan the best resilience strategies within our CI community? Through discpline in information sharing and making infrastructure preparedness personal, we can help to build resilience into our infrastructures that benefit the whole community.
Modeling and Methodology Around Incident Mitigation & Emergency Management
Predicting how threats can impact business continuity of critical assets can be of major benefit for planning resiliency or emergency response. This affects both financial and resource planning. So what are the latest roles and assessments in modeling and methodology? What role can machine learning and AI play in building more accurate predictions and what measures can be put in place to mitigate risk?
Technologies to Detect and Protect
What are some of the latest and future technologies, from ground, land or underwater technologies, access controls, and space based or cyber technology, to predict or detect the wide range of potential physical and cyber threats to CNI. How is AI being utilised in technology to enhance performance.