CyberCon Announces ThreatGEN As Title Sponsor And Appoints Clint Bodungen To Advisory Board

HOUSTON, Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CyberCon, a CISO summit and cybersecurity workforce development conference for industrial utility, announced today it has partnered with industrial cybersecurity services and training firm, ThreatGEN. Clint Bodungen, ThreatGEN co-founder and lead author of Hacking Exposed: Industrial Control Systems, will serve as CyberCon's industrial cybersecurity content advisor. CyberCon 2020, scheduled for March 30-April 1 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., is the must-attend, solutions-based cybersecurity conference series for leaders, decision makers and executives in the power and utilities industry, as well as those new to, or interested in a career in industrial cybersecurity.

"There are quite a few industrial cybersecurity conferences out there, but what stood out to me about CyberCon is their focus on the CISO and management level professionals as well as workforce development," said Bodungen. "CyberCon delivers OT cybersecurity topics to CISOs and stakeholders that address their needs and questions from a strategic and business risk perspective, which is huge because these are the issues my customers consistently approach me about. Most other conferences have great technical content about current threats, cybersecurity controls, architecture, and more, but so many OT cybersecurity managers, stakeholders, and executives still have lingering questions about when to implement certain types of technologies like threat monitoring, when to do a vulnerability assessment, when to do a penetration test, what controls they actually need and which ones can they can do without. How much is too much? What is not enough? How does insurance play into all of this?

"Most of the time my customers' questions are actually less about technology and more about their overall OT cybersecurity program, how to get their head around it, and what to do next," added Bodungen. "The other glaring issue in our industry is the massive skills gap in the workforce. Educating the existing workforce is great but providing a platform that helps usher in newcomers and the next generation of OT cybersecurity professionals will be a key component to our overall success. CyberCon provides such a platform, and in a new and exciting way."

Developed in partnership with the American Energy Society, CyberCon is a solutions-based, senior-level conference providing unprecedented access to the "boots on the ground" industry operators, experts, and executives, as well as the strategies and technologies used by power and utility leaders seeking to protect assets and the U.S. electrical grid from additional cyber-attacks.

"We are very pleased to have ThreatGEN as a partner in our CyberCon Event Series and especially in our workforce development campaign, the Race to Protect the Grid," said Barry Haest, founder of CyberCon and CEO of AlignExpo Conferences and Exhibitions. "Clint's expertise in industrial cybersecurity, as well as his passion for workforce development, synchronizes with our mission as a power and utilities cyber-security solutions conference with a focus on bridging the workforce gap."

Over 40 industry expert speakers are scheduled for the Anaheim CyberCon event covering a range of cybersecurity topics from organizations including NERC, Idaho National Labs, Cisco, CIA, FBI, Siemens, Southern Company, and U.S. Cyber Command, to name a few. Additionally, a Technology Pavilion featuring cybersecurity technology providers will showcase proven and emerging technology and solutions.

A separately ticketed "Workforce Development Forum", scheduled for March 30, will provide needed strategies for companies to recruit, train and retain top industrial cybersecurity talent, as well as topics for those starting careers in this industry. This is a time of utmost importance for U.S. cyber-security; according to CyberSeek, the United States faced a shortfall of almost 314,000 cybersecurity professionals as of January 2019 – and many studies project the deficit to grow to 3.4 million, globally, by 2021. 

CyberCon has two additional conferences in 2020; June 23-25 in Boston, Mass. and Oct. 20-22 in Austin, Tex. For information: https://cyberconconference.com/

About CyberCon:
CyberCon, owned by AlignExpo premier events and exhibition management company based in Houston, Texas, is the most comprehensive assembly of power and utility leaders seeking strategies, solutions and technologies to protect the nation's power grid from future cybersecurity threats and attacks. AlignExpo is comprised of a team of strategic leaders who have a combined experience of over 75 years in organizing business-to-business conferences in the energy industry.

About ThreatGEN:
ThreatGEN is a Houston, Texas based industrial cybersecurity services and training company with the mission to solving the industrial cybersecurity skills gap. ThreatGEN was founded by, and made up of, world-renown industrial cybersecurity experts with decades of experience with some of the world's top energy, utility, and manufacturing organizations. Their innovative and unparalleled gamified and simulation training solutions use advanced cutting-edge computer gaming technology to provide an exciting and modernized approach to industrial cybersecurity training.

CONTACT:
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+1.713.331.9906

SOURCE CyberCon