Looking for a Keynote Speaker?
Get ready for an outstanding experience for your audience. Mark’s unique mix of audience engagement, take-away cybersecurity strategies have made him one of the most memorable and in-demand cyber speakers out there. His extensive expertise on how cybersecurity impact businesses and society, his cutting edge presentations and tabletops, along with engaging storytelling leaves a lasting impact on attendees.
Mark is a top choice of security conferences and leading technology brands for a powerful and captivating keynote speaker. Mark’s storytelling, powerful presentations and high energy drive a high level of audience engagement. This along with the global recognition listed below make him one of the most in-demand technology and cybersecurity speakers.
- Ranked #1 Global Thought Leader for Security by Thinkers360
- Named One of the Top Global Cybersecurity Experts and Speakers by Onalytica
- Named One of the Top 100 Thought Leaders on Technology to Follow in 2022 by Awards Magazine
- Top 50 B2B Thought Leaders & Influencers You Should Work With In 2023 (North America)
Mark has been featured on:
Mark is a sought-after cybersecurity keynote speaker who did 44 events in 2021 and 53 events in 2022. He has spoken in front of thousands of people around the globe in conferences and events large and small.
Mark provides relevant insight into the world of cybersecurity that gives attendees the awareness and understanding to go back and improve their cybersecurity posture. He can deliver them as part of a tracked speaking engagement, a murder-mystery style table top or in an extended format as a keynote that has an interactive component to it.
A Few Sample Keynote Topics:
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Sample Potential Speaking Tracks:
Track 1: Cybersecurity: Vision and Leadership Required
- Importance of Vision and Leadership in Cybersecurity: Emphasize the critical role of visionary leadership in driving cybersecurity initiatives and fostering a culture of security within organizations.
- Key Items for Being Secure in the Digital World: Discuss essential elements such as robust access controls, regular security training, incident response preparedness, and proactive threat intelligence to enhance cybersecurity posture.
- Exploring Cybersecurity Frameworks: Introduce frameworks like Zero Trust and their value in creating a security model based on continuous verification and strict access controls to protect against evolving cyber threats.
- 7 Cybersecurity Steps for Advancement: Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Strengthening authentication mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access.
- Conducting Regular Security Audits: Assessing vulnerabilities and ensuring compliance with security standards.
- Establishing Incident Response Plans: Developing structured procedures to respond effectively to security incidents.
- Disruption Caused by Strong Cybersecurity: Highlight how robust cybersecurity measures can disrupt traditional industry practices, drive innovation, and enhance customer trust and loyalty.
- Building an Achievable Cybersecurity Roadmap: Outline the process of developing a strategic roadmap that aligns cybersecurity goals with business objectives, resource allocation, and risk management strategies.
- Fostering Internal Culture through Transparency and Collaboration: Stress the importance of promoting transparency, open communication, and collaboration across teams to cultivate a culture of shared responsibility for cybersecurity success.
- Top Ten Barriers to Successful Cybersecurity State: Identify common challenges such as lack of executive buy-in, limited resources, skill shortages, compliance complexities, and evolving threat landscape that hinder achieving a robust cybersecurity posture.
- 5 Markers of Cybersecurity Success:
- Proactive Threat Detection: Implementing tools and processes for early detection of potential security threats.
- Continuous Training and Awareness: Educating employees on cybersecurity best practices to mitigate human error risks.
- Regular Security Assessments: Conducting assessments to identify vulnerabilities and gaps in security controls.
- Incident Response Effectiveness: Evaluating the efficiency of response plans in containing and mitigating security incidents.
- Compliance Adherence: Ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements and industry standards to maintain a secure environment.
Track 2: Addressing the Cybersecurity Diversity and Shortage Challenge
- Understanding the Cybersecurity Shortage and Diversity Challenge: Discussing the current state of the cybersecurity industry, highlighting the shortage of skilled professionals and the lack of diversity in the workforce.
- Supporting STEM Education: Emphasizing the importance of promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education to cultivate interest and skills in cybersecurity among students from diverse backgrounds.
- Paving the Future for the Next Generation: Advocating for initiatives that empower young individuals, especially minorities and women, to pursue careers in cybersecurity through mentorship, education, and exposure to industry opportunities.
- Sponsoring and Volunteering for Inclusivity: Encouraging industry professionals to sponsor and volunteer to support minorities and women entering the cybersecurity profession by providing guidance, resources, and networking opportunities.
- Collaboration with Community Organizations: Highlighting partnerships with organizations like NPower and other community groups focused on training underserved populations for careers in IT and cybersecurity to bridge the skills gap.
- Providing Free or Low-Cost Resources: Promoting access to educational resources, training programs, certifications, and mentorship opportunities for aspiring IT or cybersecurity candidates from underserved communities to facilitate their entry into the field.
- Digital Career Pathways for Veterans: Creating tailored pathways for military veterans transitioning into civilian life to pursue cybersecurity careers by recognizing their unique skills, experiences, and potential contributions to the industry.
- Lessons Learned as a Veteran and Father of Three Daughters: Sharing personal insights on overcoming challenges, balancing responsibilities, and advocating for diversity and inclusion in cybersecurity based on experiences as a veteran and a father raising daughters.
- Mentorship Programs for Underrepresented Groups: Establishing mentorship programs that pair experienced professionals with individuals from underrepresented communities to provide guidance, support, and career development opportunities.
- Encouraging Diversity in Leadership Roles: Promoting diversity in leadership positions within cybersecurity organizations to foster inclusive decision-making processes, drive innovation, and inspire future generations of diverse professionals.
- Addressing Unconscious Bias: Raising awareness about unconscious bias in hiring practices, workplace culture, and professional development opportunities to create a more inclusive environment for individuals from diverse backgrounds.
- Advocating for Policy Changes: Engaging with policymakers to advocate for policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the cybersecurity industry through initiatives such as funding for education programs, scholarships for underrepresented groups, and incentives for companies supporting diversity efforts.
Track 3: Proactive Strategy for Real-time Ransomware Recovery
- Introduction to Ransomware Threat Landscape: Provide an overview of the current ransomware landscape, highlighting the evolving tactics used by threat actors and the increasing frequency of attacks.
- Understanding XDR (Extended Detection and Response): Explain how XDR solutions can enhance incident response (IR) capabilities by providing comprehensive visibility across endpoints, networks, and cloud environments to enable real-time threat detection and response.
- Incident Response Plan Development: Discuss the importance of having a well-defined and tested incident response plan tailored specifically for ransomware incidents, outlining key steps to take in case of an attack.
- Real-time Detection and Response Mechanisms: Explore proactive strategies for real-time ransomware detection, such as leveraging behavioral analytics, threat intelligence feeds, and automated response mechanisms to minimize dwell time and contain the impact. XDR Integration with Incident Response: Highlight the integration of XDR solutions with incident response processes to facilitate rapid containment, investigation, and recovery from ransomware attacks in real-time.
- Appointed Incident Response Team: Emphasize the significance of establishing a dedicated incident response team comprising cross-organization members with diverse expertise to ensure a coordinated and effective response to ransomware incidents. Role-based Training and Simulation Exercises: Stress the importance of providing regular training sessions and conducting simulated ransomware attack scenarios to prepare the incident response team for real-time recovery operations.
- Key Steps for Protecting Your Organization:
- Regular Security Awareness Training: Educating employees on recognizing phishing attempts, malware threats, and best practices for cybersecurity hygiene.
- Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Strengthening access controls by requiring multiple forms of verification for user authentication.
- Conducting Regular Vulnerability Assessments: Identifying and addressing security vulnerabilities proactively to reduce the attack surface for ransomware threats.
- and more…
- Important Markers of a Strong Incident Response Strategy:
- Rapid Detection and Containment: Swiftly identifying and containing ransomware incidents to prevent further spread and minimize damage.
- Comprehensive Incident Documentation: Thoroughly documenting incident details, response actions taken, and lessons learned for post-incident analysis and continuous improvement.
- and more…
- Communication and Coordination Protocols: Address the need for clear communication channels and predefined coordination protocols within the incident response team, as well as with external stakeholders, to streamline decision-making during ransomware recovery efforts.
- Post-Incident Analysis and Continuous Improvement: Discuss the value of conducting thorough post-incident analyses to identify lessons learned, vulnerabilities exposed, and areas for improvement in the proactive strategy for real-time ransomware recovery. Compliance and Regulatory Considerations: Touch upon compliance requirements related to data breach notifications, incident reporting, and regulatory obligations that organizations must adhere to when responding to ransomware attacks in real-time.
Track 4: Utilizing Generative AI Successfully in Today's Chaotic World
What Audiences Learn:
- Introduction to Generative AI: Define what generative AI is and how it differs from other forms of artificial intelligence.
- Applications of Generative AI: Explore various real-world applications where generative AI can be successfully utilized, such as in art generation, text generation, and image synthesis.
- Benefits of Generative AI: Discuss the advantages of using generative AI in today's chaotic world, including its ability to handle uncertainty, generate creative solutions, and adapt to dynamic environments.
- Ethical Considerations: Address ethical concerns related to generative AI, such as bias in data, misuse of generated content, and potential societal impacts. Challenges and Limitations: Highlight the challenges and limitations of utilizing generative AI in chaotic environments, such as data quality issues, interpretability challenges, and regulatory constraints.
- Best Practices for Implementation: Provide insights into best practices for successfully implementing generative AI systems, including data preparation, model selection, and performance evaluation.
- Risk Management Strategies: Discuss strategies for managing risks associated with using generative AI in unpredictable contexts, such as cybersecurity threats, misinformation risks, and legal implications.
- Human-AI Collaboration: Emphasize the importance of fostering collaboration between humans and AI systems to leverage the strengths of both in navigating today's complex and turbulent world.
- Case Studies and Success Stories: Share examples of organizations or projects that have effectively utilized generative AI to address challenges in chaotic environments and achieve positive outcomes.
- Future Trends and Opportunities: Explore emerging trends in generative AI research and development that hold promise for enhancing its effectiveness in tackling the complexities of our rapidly changing world.
Below is a small sample of Mark's numerous keynote and speaking events:
- Presenter of Doak Walker Running Back Award on ESPN - Presented the Doak Walker on ESPN Awards Show in front of National TV Audience
- Keynote Speaker at BSides Event - Keynote speaker on cybersecurity at BSides Annual Event in McAllen, Texas 2022
- Keynote Speaker at FLGISA 2022 - One of five keynote speakers on cybersecurity at Florida Local Government Information Systems Association ("FLGISA") Event in Ft Lauderdale, Florida 2022
- RSA 2020 for Oracle Security – Speaker – Speaker at RSA 2020 for Oracle Security discussing cybersecurity
- Presenter and Speaker at 2021 Cybersecurity Woman of the Year Awards - presented at the cybersecurity woman of the year awards show
- Keynote Speaker at MISAC Conference 2023 - keynote for MISAC conference in California and spoke about the many benefits of a zero trust strategy
- Cisco, & Cohesity – Spoke and performed at seven ransomware protection events in California, Florida and Texas
- Speaker at IBM Watson's Winning with AI event - speaker at event alongside Hannah Storm and other celebrities and thought leaders.
- Keynote Speaker at 2020 Redlands Technology Summit - performed keynote on cybersecurity in higher education.
- Oracle OpenWorld Fall 2019 Speaker – Speaker at both Oracle OpenWorld Fall 2019 and RSA 2020 for Oracle Security
- Keynote for 2020 NPower Conference- Performed keynote on cybersecurity careers at NPower Conference in Dallas, Texas
- Keynote at IDEAS Global Conference Series – Spoke about “Combine Machine Learning & Blockchain to Create Greater Trust”
- IBM Think Global Conference – Speaker - Spoke at IBM Think about artificial intelligence in operations
- Keynote Speaker at 2021 Socorro Technology Summit - Performed keynote on incident response for K12s, along with the FBI
- IBM TechU Conference – Speaker – “The Journey To AI – 7 Things Every Enterprise Should Consider”
- Keynote Speaker for SMU Doak Walker Award Event- Keynoted SMU's Doak Walker event in Dallas in front of 3,000+ attendees
- Moderator for 2022 Panel at RSA-Was panelist on cybersecurity panel at RSA for NetScout event in San Francisco, California
- Keynote at 2020 Elevate Technology Conference - Performed cybersecurity keynote at Elevate Technology Conference in Dallas for a large audience
- ThreatMetrix Digital Identity 360 – Speaker– “Building Trust with Digital Identity and Blockchain”
- BDO CFO Leadership Council – Speaker– “AI and Blockchain Use-cases For Better Customer Experiences”
- Moderator for Panel at 2020 Oracle Open World Was moderator on cybersecurity panel at Oracle Open World in San Francisco, California
and many more...