Shields Up: Key Technologies Reshaping Cybersecurity Defenses

Shields Up:

Key Technologies Reshaping Cybersecurity Defenses

March 19, 2026

11:00am -5:00pm ET | Doors Open at 10:30am ET

The explosion of generative AI, along with widespread multi-cloud adoption, have transformed the network landscape for enterprise security.

Meanwhile, cyber threat actors continue waging ransomware, supply chain, and other malicious attacks that penetrate enterprise cyber defenses in increasingly nefarious ways, leaving security teams wondering if their current technology defenses will hold up against a new wave of threats powered by AI and targeted at their cloud assets and their increasingly blurred network perimeter.

Shields Up: Key Technologies Reshaping Cybersecurity Defenses is a free, one-day online conference produced by the editors of Dark Reading that takes an in-depth look at the latest cybersecurity technologies, tools and services for thwarting today’s attacks, and provides deep insights and practical advice for security teams tasked with weaving them into their security infrastructure.

Topics Include:

Best practices for evaluating and deploying the newest security tools and services

Harnessing AI to streamline and automate SecOps processes

Securing your cloud-based assets with the latest tech tools and best practices

Insights into blending new security tools with existing ones

Tools and strategies for adopting DevSecOps

How AI, extended detection & response (XDR), continuous threat exposure and attack surface management, zero trust, cloud-native security tools and other technologies can advance defenses

And Much More!

Agenda

Keynote

11:00 AM – 11:45 AM

Cyber Tech Rundown

Sponsored by: Wiz

Speaker(s): Brad Arkin, Principal, LeverSec

Moderated by: Fahmida Rashid, Managing Editor, Features & Technology, Dark Reading

Keeping up with the latest products and offerings from the thousands of cybersecurity vendors and service providers is a major undertaking. In this keynote address, a top cyber technology expert goes beyond the hype surrounding the newest security technologies and cyber defense trends and offers tips and recommendations on how to determine which of the latest security technologies can best help you secure your enterprise in 2026.

Fireside Chat

11:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Sponsored by: Wiz

Speaker(s): Snegha Ramnarayanan, Group Manager, Product Marketing, Wiz

Moderated by: Fahmida Rashid, Managing Editor, Features & Technology, Dark Reading

Keynote

12:15 PM – 1:00 PM

CISO’s Guide to the Latest Cyber Defense Tools

Sponsored by: SentinelOne

Speaker(s): Carmine Valente, Deputy CISO, Con Edison

Moderated by: Kelly Jackson Higgins, Editor-in-Chief, Dark Reading

New cybersecurity technologies bring both promise and peril, as organizations face both budget and technical challenges when selecting and deploying new tools and disciplines. In this keynote, a senior security practitioner will give an insider’s view on how to best to determine which of the newest technologies and approaches fit your budget and your environment – and best practices for deploying them.

Fireside Chat

1:00 PM – 1:15 PM

Sponsored by: SentinelOne

Speaker(s): Anthony La Scala, CISSP, Technical Evangelist, SentinelOne

Moderated by: Kelly Jackson Higgins, Editor-in-Chief, Dark Reading

Spotlight Webinar

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Threat Landscape: AI in the Cloud

Sponsored by: Wiz

Presented by: Alon Schindel, Vice President of AI & Threat Research, Wiz

New threat patterns are emerging alongside familiar security failures as AI adoption accelerates across cloud environments. This session provides a view of how AI is changing attacker behavior and where risk is concentrating in cloud environments.

Spotlight Webinar

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Transitioning from Legacy to Modern Security Operations

Sponsored by: SentinelOne

Presented by: Anthony La Scala, CISSP, Technical Evangelist, SentinelOne

The age of the simple virus is over. Today’s security teams are battling AI-empowered adversaries and nation-state actors who operate with the speed and sophistication of a Fortune 500 company. Yet, many organizations remain trapped in a “Legacy Liability,” relying on an alphabet soup of siloed defenses that generate a firehose of noise while leaving critical blind spots across Identity and Cloud. This session argues that the endpoint is no longer the sole battleground, but just one link in a complex attack chain.

In this presentation, we will dismantle the “Legacy Liability” and present the roadmap to the High-Autonomy SOC (Level 4). We will move beyond the hype around AI to discuss the operational reality of Hyperautomation and the elimination of the “Administrative Tax” that drains analyst talent. Attendees will leave with a clear maturity model for transitioning their teams from reactive “alert factories” to proactive, self-healing ecosystems where the AI handles the data and humans handle the strategy.

Panel Session

2:15 PM - 3:00 PM

Protecting the Modern Network “Perimeter”

Sponsored by: Delinea

Panelists: Chris Steffen, Frank Vukovits, Michael Watford

Moderated by: Robert Wright, News Director, Dark Reading

Six years after the rush to cloud during the global pandemic, the enterprise network boundary has morphed into a distributed mesh of multiple cloud services and applications, on-site systems, Internet of Things devices, and BYOD. In this panel discussion, experts will explore the challenges of the far-flung network of today and discuss strategies and technologies for ensuring proper asset visibility, identity security and management, and how a zero trust architecture can help protect organizations.

Panel Session

3:15 PM - 4:00 PM

Cloud Security Clarity

Sponsored by: N-Able

Panelists: Jim Waggoner, Ketaki Borade, Sebastiaan Gybels

Moderated by: Tara Seals, Managing Editor, News, Dark Reading

Moving to the cloud poses another level of security challenges as organizations adopt multiple cloud services and applications. In this panel discussion, experts will discuss the latest threats specific to the cloud environment as well as best practices, tools, and technologies that can help enterprises manage and secure their cloud assets, including cloud-native application protection platforms (CNAPP), cloud security posture management (CSPM), and other tools.

Panel Session

4:15 PM - 5:00 PM

AI Transforms SecOps

Sponsored by: Rapid7 & Snyk

Panelists: Juraj Cief, Sonya Moisset

Moderated by: Kristina Beek, Associate Editor, Dark Reading

Automation long has been a goal for security operations teams struggling to find that needle in the haystack of alerts amid a rapidly increasing and evolving cyber threat landscape. Generative and agentic AI show groundbreaking promise for streamlining and automating many of the manual and resource-intensive tasks of today’s security operations team. In this panel, experts will provide insights and real-world examples of how and where AI-fortified tools and services can enhance and improve security posture.

Shields Up:

Key Technologies Reshaping Cybersecurity Defenses

March 19, 2026

11:00am -5:00pm ET | Doors Open at 10:30am ET

Speakers

Brad Arkin

Principal, LeverSec

Brad Arkin is Principal at LeverSec, a strategic risk and technology advisory firm. Brad was previously Chief Trust Officer at Salesforce, Chief Security & Trust Officer at Cisco, and Chief Security Officer at Adobe.

Dr. Bill Chu

Professor of Software and Information Systems, University of North Carolina

Dr. Bei‑Tseng (Bill) Chu is a Professor in the Department of Software and Information Systems at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the Managing Director of the CyberDNA Center, which has been recognized by both the NSA and DHS as a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Security Research and Education.

Alon Schindel

VP of Al and Threat Research, Wiz

Alon Schindel is the VP of AI and Threat Research at Wiz. He’s an experienced cybersecurity professional who has filled various leadership roles in both development and research of cybersecurity products and specializes in threats and how to detect them.

Chris Steffen

Vice President of Research, Enterprise Management Associates

Chris leads the information security, risk and compliance management practice for EMA, focusing on IT management/leadership, cloud security, and regulatory compliance. Chris has over 25 years of industry experience as a noted information security executive, technical evangelist and presenter, focusing on IT and information security management/lead.

Ketaki Borade

Senior Analyst, Infrastructure Security, Omdia

Ketaki Borade supports Omdia’s Infrastructure Security research practice. She is responsible for qualitative and quantitative analysis of key vendors in the service. She provides insights into technology, market trends, and competitive landscape. Ketaki brings her eight years of experience in consulting and syndicate research to this role.

Sebastiaan Gybels

Senior Vice President | Cybersecurity Governance, Risk and Compliance, Northern Trust

Gybels is a business- and people-savvy technical CISO with 20+ years’ experience in technology and cybersecurity; 15+ years as a leader, managing global teams of more than 50. He has a demonstrated track record of delivering business-enabling security programs for organizations of all sizes (SaaS startups, Fortune 500, financial regulators).

Michael Watford

Senior Solutions Architect, Blue Mantis

Michael Watford is a Network Solution Architect, holding current Cisco certifications for CCNP, CCDP, CCNP Security, and CMSS. In his over decade-long career he has worked in various positions including in network operations centers, service delivery, and consulting.

Carmine Valente

Deputy CISO at Con Edison

An Information Security Executive with extensive cross-cultural experience in all aspects of Cyber Security, Risk Management, Incident Response, Attack Surface Management, AI Security, Audit, Business Resilience, Data Security, & Board Advisory. In his roles, Carmine provides visionary leadership to combat the Advanced Persistent Security threats.

Juraj Cief

Product Manager, AI-Powered Security Operations, Rapid7

Juraj Cief is a Product Manager for AI-powered Security Operations at Rapid7. He focuses on building ML- and AI-driven product capabilities that improve the efficiency and decision-making of SOC analysts. Prior to Rapid7, Juraj worked at ESET, where he led a product team responsible for building an XDR platform.

Anthony La Scala, CISSP

Technical Evangelist, SentinelOne

With over a decade of experience in IT and cybersecurity, Anthony La Scala is an industry veteran specializing in security operations, security infrastructure architecture, and strategic leadership. Anthony has helped more than 100 organizations enhance their IT and cybersecurity posture and is continuing this work with SentinelOne.

Jim Waggoner

VP of Product Management, Security at N-able

Jim Waggoner is a product management professional with over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, helping deliver top-notch solutions for businesses of all sizes. Currently, he’s the Vice President of Product Management in the N able cybersecurity business unit and has held similar leadership roles at Trellix, FireEye, McAfee, and Symantec.

Sonya Moisset

Staff AI Security Advocate, Snyk

Sonya is a Staff AI Security Advocate and a lifelong traveler who lived in the Middle-East, North Africa and East Asia. She’s passionate about Cybersecurity, DevSecOps and AI. Sonya is a DevSecOps/AI Security Advocate, an international public speaker, a tech advocate and mentor. Her motto is #GetSecure, #BeSecure & #StaySecure.

Kristina Beek

Associate Editor, Dark Reading

Kristina Beek is an associate editor at Dark Reading, where she covers a wide range of cybersecurity topics and spearheads video-related content. She is the creator and host of the Heard It From a CISO video series, where she interviews CISOs, directors, and other industry strategists to provide insights into the evolving cybersecurity landscape.

Frank Vukovits

Chief Security Scientist, Delinea

Frank is Chief Security Scientist at Delinea. He has over three decades of experience as an auditor and security professional, along with corporate IT executive management. Frank holds Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Information System Auditor (CISA) designations, and passed the CISSP exam in 2001.

Melinda Marks

Practice Director, Cybersecurity, Omdia

Practice Director Melinda Marks leads ESG’s analyst team focused on cybersecurity. Melinda covers technologies that help organizations scale safely while adopting faster cloud-native development cycles. With more than 20 years of experience in technology marketing and strategy.

Snegha Ramnarayanan

Snegha Ramnarayanan, Staff Product GTM Manager, Wiz

Snegha Ramnarayanan is a Staff Product GTM Manager at Wiz focused on Wiz’s core capabilities including data and AI security. Previously , she worked in field and product roles in the cybersecurity space including Okta & Vmware. She graduated from the Haas school of Business (MBA) & the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (EE).

Rob Wright

Rob Wright, Senior News Director, Dark Reading

Rob Wright is the senior news director at Dark Reading. He has a 25-year career as a technology journalist. He joined TechTarget in 2014 as site editor of SearchSecurity and later served as the site's executive editor. Prior to TechTarget, he worked at CRN and Tom's Hardware Guide in various editor and report roles. He is based in the Boston area.

Fahmida Y. Rashid

Managing Editor of Features, Dark Reading

Fahmida Y Rashid is Dark Reading’s managing editor, focusing on stories that provide security professionals with the information they need to do their jobs. She has spent over a decade analyzing news events and demystifying security technology for IT professionals and business managers.

Tara Seals

Managing Editor, News, Dark Reading

Tara Seals has 25+ years of experience as a journalist, analyst and editor in the cybersecurity, communications and technology space. Prior to Dark Reading, Tara was Editor in Chief at Threatpost, and prior to that, the North American news lead for Infosecurity Magazine.

Kelly Jackson Higgins

Editor-in-Chief, Dark Reading

Kelly Jackson Higgins is the Editor-in-Chief of Dark Reading. She is an award-winning veteran technology and business journalist with more than two decades of experience in reporting and editing for various publications, including Network Computing, Secure Enterprise Magazine, Virginia Business magazine, and other major media properties.