The CISO Summit at InfoSec World 2025 begins with a powerful welcome from two seasoned leaders who have dedicated their careers to advancing cybersecurity strategy, innovation, and developing strong communities. Parham Eftekhari and Chris Ancharski will set the tone for the day by highlighting the importance of community and how the CyberRisk Alliance can help CISOs with their most pressing issues.
As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes both the attack surface and defensive capabilities, CISOs are under mounting pressure to harness AI responsibly while ensuring resilience across their organizations. This interactive benchmarking session brings security leaders together to compare strategies, lessons learned, and best practices for integrating AI into enterprise security programs. Through guided discussion, participants will examine real-world use cases, organizational readiness challenges, and the balance between innovation and risk management.
During this session you will:
Supply chain SaaS risks are hitting Fortune 500s and startups alike in ways that most security teams never see coming. From the ShinyHunters’ Salesforce campaigns to the SalesLoft Drift supply chain breach, attackers are proving one thing: the weakest link isn’t inside your company, it’s in the SaaS supply chain you don’t control.
During this Vorlon lightening talk you will learn:
Recharge with a coffee and take advantage of this dedicated time to meet fellow CISOs, exchange insights, and build new connections before heading into the next round of sessions.
Today’s CISOs can no longer stay behind the scenes. As stewards of trust in an era of relentless cyber risk, they must also be visible leaders—capable of shaping narratives in the boardroom and in the public sphere. Those who learn to speak for themselves don’t just protect their organizations; they elevate their own credibility, expand their influence, and help define the future of cybersecurity leadership.
In this thirty-minute session led by LaunchTech, you’ll discover why now is the moment for CISOs to step forward as thought leaders—and how doing so pays dividends both internally and externally.
Attendees will gain insight into how thought leadership can:
You’ll leave with a compelling case for making thought leadership a priority—and concrete direction on how to begin shaping your own presence as a trusted and influential CISO.
Leading security in a 24/7/365 environment means making tough calls, balancing competing priorities, and often forming strong opinions on where the industry should head next.
This is your opportunity to hear and share some of the hottest takes on today’s most pressing cybersecurity topics. From bold predictions to controversial stances, this conversation will surface the perspectives shaping how security leaders approach innovation, governance, and resilience.
During this session you will:
Connect over lunch with fellow CISOs and industry leaders—turning meaningful conversations into stronger professional relationships.
The SANS Executive Cyber Exercise will put you inside a simulated cyber event to help your organization understand what it takes to respond to a cyber incident from a strategic perspective. The simulated exercise will emphasize the importance of a well-practiced cyber crisis plan and the leadership skills required to deal with today’s threats. Our facilitators will use real-world experience and industry best practices to expose areas for improvement in an organization’s crisis response plans within a safe environment.
A SANS Executive Cyber Exercise (ECE) is a training activity designed to simulate a cybersecurity crisis. Exercises are conducted in a safe, open, and no-fault environment. Participants assess the severity of the attack and determine an effective strategic response.
Learning Objectives:
AI is reshaping the security landscape, but are your defenses keeping up? Many organizations with strong security controls are already 90% prepared—the challenge is addressing the final 10% of AI-specific risks across applications, infrastructure, and development pipelines.
Join Andrew Obadiaru, Cobalt’s CISO, for an exclusive briefing where he’ll dive into:
As cyber threats evolve with the speed of innovation, the role of cybersecurity leaders, both in government and enterprise, has never been more critical or more complex. In this CISO-level conversation, Cory Simpson, CEO of the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT) and Valerie Cofield, Executive Director, ICIT and former Chief Strategy Officer, CISA, will offer a behind-the-scenes look at how national cyber strategy is shifting to meet this moment.Drawing on their experience shaping federal cybersecurity policy and protecting national infrastructure, Simpson and Cofield will unpack the government’s rapid evolution toward Zero Trust, AI-driven defense, and real-time threat intelligence sharing. More importantly, they’ll challenge CISOs to consider how these efforts translate to the private sector where business risk, regulatory pressure, and board visibility continue to rise. Don’t miss this opportunity to join your peers to explore how top-down strategy, speed, and alignment are reshaping the CISO mandate in both public and private sectors.
During this interactive session you will:
The CISO Summit at InfoSec World 2025 concludes with reflections from Parham Eftekhari and Chris Ancharski, who will close the day by reinforcing the value of shared insights, as well as highlighting key themes from the summit. Attendees will leave inspired, connected, and better equipped to lead with confidence in the evolving cybersecurity landscape.
Celebrate the voices, vision, and leadership shaping the future of cybersecurity. This gathering offers a unique opportunity to connect with peers, mentors, and change-makers in a relaxed and empowering atmosphere.
Don’t miss this opportunity to form new friendships and expand your cyber community connections!
Join the CISO Summit at InfoSec World 2025 to gain peer-driven insights on balancing innovation with risk, building resilient cultures, and leading through disruption—while connecting with fellow security leaders shaping the future of enterprise defense.
Access to the InfoSec World CISO Summit is limited to the first 100 senior security and risk leaders who indicate their interest during the main event registration process. Attendance is reserved for professionals with job titles that reflect senior-level responsibility in security or risk leadership.
Eligible titles include:
Accepted individuals will be notified directly.
Kris Tanaka
VP, Event Programming
