Agenda

Thu 09 Oct 2025

View event details
8:00AM

Registration & Networking

8:00 AM - 8:50 AM (50 mins)

8:50AM

Welcome from Public Sector Network

8:50 AM - 9:00 AM (10 mins)

9:00AM
Industry Insights

Welcome from the Chair

9:00 AM - 9:10 AM (10 mins)

9:10AM
Keynote

Welcome Address: Keep Your Eye on the Ball: The Blind Spots of Cybersecurity

9:10 AM - 9:30 AM (20 mins)

Martin Dinel Chief Information Security Officer, Government of Alberta

Most cyber teams focus heavily on production environments—yet attackers are increasingly exploiting overlooked vulnerabilities in third-party systems, legacy infrastructure, and test environments. This session will help you apply new approaches on how you can better secure hidden risk areas across your entire ecosystem.

9:30AM
Keynote

How to Leverage AI with Clean Data While Ensuring Security

9:30 AM - 9:50 AM (20 mins)

AI-driven decision-making is only as strong as the data behind it. Without clean, high-quality data, organizations risk inefficiencies, biases, and security vulnerabilities. This session will equip you with the strategies to maintain data integrity, harness AI effectively, and safeguard sensitive information.

  • Improve data quality to enhance AI-driven insights and operational efficiency
  • Leverage AI to automate processes while minimizing risks and errors
  • Strengthen cybersecurity measures to protect data from emerging threats
  • Optimize governance strategies to ensure compliance and ethical AI use
9:50AM
Industry Insights

Partner Perspective

9:50 AM - 10:10 AM (20 mins)

10:10AM
Panel discussion

Leveraging Threat Intelligence to Strengthen Cyber Defenses

10:10 AM - 10:40 AM (30 mins)

Michael Spaling Chief Information Security Officer, University of Alberta
Christopher Scutchings Team Lead Cyber Security Operations, City of Calgary

With cyber threats evolving rapidly, organizations need real-time intelligence to anticipate and mitigate risks. Effective threat intelligence enables proactive defense strategies, reducing vulnerabilities and strengthening overall security posture. This session will equip you with the tools to collect, analyze, and act on threat intelligence to safeguard your organization.

  • Improve threat detection by integrating real-time intelligence into security operations
  • Strengthen incident response by identifying and neutralizing threats before they escalate
  • Leverage automation and AI to enhance threat analysis and decision-making
  • Strengthen collaboration between teams to share intelligence and build a resilient security strategy"

10:40AM

Morning Tea Break

10:40 AM - 11:20 AM (40 mins)

10:55AM
Tech Talk

Tech Talk Session

10:55 AM - 11:10 AM (15 mins)

11:20AM
Keynote

Failing Fast and Staying Safe: Guardrails for Accelerating AI Implementation

11:20 AM - 11:40 AM (20 mins)

AI innovation moves fast, but without the right safeguards, rapid implementation can lead to costly mistakes. Organizations must strike a balance between agility and risk management to scale AI effectively. This session will provide you with strategies to experiment quickly, learn from failures, and deploy AI responsibly.

  • Create governance frameworks that foster innovation and manage risks effectively
  • Improve AI testing and validation processes to identify failures early
  • Strengthen cross-functional collaboration to align AI initiatives with organizational goals
  • Strengthen risk management strategies to ensure responsible and scalable AI adoption
11:40AM
Industry Insights

Partner Perspective

11:40 AM - 12:00 PM (20 mins)

12:00PM
Keynote

Ensuring Cybersecurity Impact: Telling the Cybersecurity Story That Stakeholders Need to Hear

12:00 PM - 12:20 PM (20 mins)

Rachel Hayward Executive Director, CyberAlberta

CyberAlberta's team of technical experts excels in identifying and mitigating cyber threats. However, translating this technical prowess into messages that resonate with non-technical stakeholders can be a challenge. Recognizing the critical need for effective communication, CyberAlberta has worked to develop a compliance framework to assist technical and non-technical audiences to understand the risks and threats to a given environment.

This session will explore the journey of transforming complex cybersecurity information into compelling narratives that drive stakeholder engagement and action.

  • Examine the development and impact of CyberAlberta's Compliance Framework
  • Understand the challenges faced when conveying technical information to non-technical audiences​
  • Learn strategies to craft messages that highlight the significance of cybersecurity compliance
  • Discover methods to foster collaboration between technical teams and decision-makers​
  • Gain insights into building a culture that elevates the visibility and support for cybersecurity efforts
12:20PM
Panel discussion

Weighing the Risks and Benefits of a Single IT Service Provider

12:20 PM - 12:50 PM (30 mins)

Barb Carra President and CEO, Cybera

Choosing a single IT service provider can streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and reduce complexity—but it also introduces potential risks, such as vendor lock-in and limited flexibility. Organizations must carefully evaluate the trade-offs to ensure long-term resilience and scalability. This session will help you assess the strategic, financial, and operational impacts of consolidating IT services under one provider.

  • Improve efficiency by simplifying vendor management and streamlining IT operations
  • Assess risks such as vendor lock-in, service disruptions, and evolving business needs
  • Strengthen negotiation strategies to secure favorable terms and long-term flexibility
  • Streamline IT governance to maintain control, compliance, and adaptability

12:50PM

Lunch Break

12:50 PM - 1:50 PM (60 mins)

1:10PM
Tech Talk

Tech Talk Session

1:10 PM - 1:25 PM (15 mins)

1:50PM
Roundtables

Interactive Roundtables

1:50 PM - 2:50 PM (60 mins)

2:50PM
Keynote

Aligning Cybersecurity with Emerging Technologies for Resilient Protection

2:50 PM - 3:10 PM (20 mins)

Richard Henderson Executive Director and Chief Information Security Officer, Alberta Health Services

As governments adopt AI, IoT, and cloud-based platforms, the cybersecurity landscape is growing more complex—and more critical. Aligning protection strategies with innovation is no longer optional; it’s essential for building trust and resilience.

This session will show how you can future-proof your security posture by integrating cyber priorities early in your tech adoption lifecycle, and applying new approaches on how you can stay ahead of evolving threats.

  • Adapt cybersecurity strategies to keep pace with AI, IoT, and cloud adoption
  • Increase resilience by embedding cyber risk mitigation into digital transformation
  • Improve decision-making by aligning security and innovation roadmaps
  • Amplify protection with threat intelligence, automation, and zero trust models
3:10PM
Industry Insights

Partner Perspective

3:10 PM - 3:30 PM (20 mins)

3:30PM
Panel discussion

Building Resilience: Strategies for Combating Emerging Cyber Threats in the Public Sector

3:30 PM - 4:00 PM (30 mins)

As cyber threats grow in sophistication, public sector organizations must strengthen their defenses while ensuring operational continuity. Proactive strategies, advanced threat intelligence, and cross-agency collaboration are essential to safeguarding critical infrastructure and sensitive data. This session will provide you with the tools to anticipate, mitigate, and respond to evolving cyber risks.

  • Improve threat detection and response by leveraging real-time intelligence and AI-driven security tools
  • Strengthen cybersecurity frameworks to align with evolving regulatory and compliance requirements
  • Understanding all incident response strategies to minimize disruption and accelerate recovery
  • Enhance cross-agency collaboration to share intelligence and build a unified defense strategy"

Daniel Pedersen
Director, Corporate Information Security Office, City of Edmonton
Dorothy Eng
Chief Executive Officer, Code for Canada
Daniel Cherrington
Manager, Cybersecurity Engagement, Strategy, and Planning, Ministry of Technology and Innovation
4:00PM

Closing Remarks

4:00 PM - 4:10 PM (10 mins)

4:10PM

Networking Reception

4:10 PM - 5:10 PM (60 mins)

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