Security Awareness programs are infamously difficult to implement before considering cultural and demographic issues. Addressing users in multiple locations (or countries!) and from multiple generations adds an additional level of complexity. This panel brings together experts from a variety of organizations to interact and share lessons learned in implementing effective programs in their unique cultures. The specific issues that the panelists will address relate to their experiences, challenges, successes, and lessons learned from implementing their programs:
- How did they establish their programs?
- Who is in charge of running the program?
- How would they describe their organizational culture?
- How many unique security awareness programs do they have to address their different user populations (and which demographics)?
- Which security awareness components do they utilize within their program?
- What unique/creative components do they utilize?
- Any unique efforts for Senior Executives?
- How do they assess the success of their programs?
- Do they gather metrics for their efforts?
- Is there anything they would do differently if they could start over again?
- What advice they would impart?
About Panel w/Christophe Veltsos
Christophe Veltsos
Chris Veltsos is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Information Science at Minnesota State University, Mankato where he regularly
teaches Information Security and Information Warfare classes. Beyond the classroom, Chris is very active in the security community and regularly consults in
the field. His current research focuses on measuring the effectiveness of information security awareness programs
Samantha Manke
Samantha Manke is Executive Vice President and Chief Knowledge Officer of Secure Mentem, where she leads the development of customized security
awareness programs. Previously, she co-designed and implemented highly acclaimed security awareness programs at several Fortune 500 companies.
Samantha was awarded a Master’s degree in Security Technologies from the University of Minnesota. She has become known for her groundbreaking security
awareness research conducted during her time at the University of Minnesota. Her breakthrough approach included an extensive comparison of security
awareness programs at Fortune 500 companies, determining critical success factors and the effectiveness of the programs. Samantha is a noted speaker,
media contributor, and facilitator having addressed audiences around the globe. In addition to her graduate work, Manke also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Anthropology from St. Olaf College.
Mike Kearn
As an Information Security Officer (ISO), Mr. Kearn regularly consults with technology and operational risk management executives as an information security subject matter expert. Mr. Kearn brings more than fourteen years of varied experience in Information Technology to his current role. Prior to joining US Bank early in 2012, he held several positions with Wells Fargo & Company, including roles as an IT Auditor, Application Developer, Application Architect and VP of Information Security (ISO). Mr. Kearn has been a featured speaker at events such as CSO Magazine events, Minneapolis CISO Executive Summit, and government agencies, including law enforcement and military personnel, on various information security topics.
Chris Nickerson
Chris Nickerson,CEO of LARES, is just another “Security guy” with a whole bunch of certs whose main area of expertise is focused on Real world Attack Modeling, Red Team Testing and InfoSec Testing. At Lares, Chris leads a team of security professional who conduct Risk Assessments, Penetration testing, Application Testing, Social Engineering, Red Team Testing and Full Adversarial Attack Modeling. Prior to starting Lares, Chris was Dir. of Security Services at Alternative Technology, a Sr. IT compliance at KPMG, Sr. Security Architect and Compliance Manager at Sprint Corporate Security. Chris is a member of many security groups and was also a featured member of TruTV’s Tiger Team. Chris is the cohost of the Exotic liability Podcast, the author of the upcoming “RED TEAM TESTING” book published by Elsevier/Syngress and a founding member of BSIDES Conference.
