Christopher Painter

In Europe, the General Data Protection Directive, the Cybersecurity Act, the new Digital Markets Act, and Digital Services Act have significant implications for any company that has a global presence. In this talk, multi-award-winning cybersecurity veteran Chris Painter, one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on cybercrime, cyber policy and cyber diplomacy, discusses some of the existing and emerging cyber related regulations and rules being promulgated by the U.S. and other countries. In the U.S., new breach reporting laws and proposed Securities and Exchange Commission rules mandating stronger cybersecurity and greater board understanding of cybersecurity may have large effects on critical infrastructure and any publicly traded company. Painter describes some of these regulatory initiatives and what companies and boards need to know in the future.

An epidemic of ransomware attacks has many organizations on edge while others suffer or repair damages. The prolific ransomware groups not only disrupt an organization’s business to hold it hostage to significant monetary demands, but also extorts the organization by threatening to release its proprietary information. And it’s going to get worse before it gets better, says multi-award-winning cybersecurity veteran Chris Painter, one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on cybercrime, cyber policy, and cyber diplomacy, and co-chair of the influential Ransomware Task Force. In this talk, he discusses risk factors and explains how participants can empower their organization to be proactive rather than reactive. He then outlines strategies for mitigating or preventing damage before, during and after an attack.

Cyber threats from nation-states and criminal groups have exploded in recent years. Where once organizations ignored or failed to account for these threats, they do so now at their peril. Sophisticated nation-states like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are not just targeting governments but are increasingly launching destructive cyber attacks against private companies and organizations, or are intruding into their systems to steal valuable trade secrets and intellectual property that is a company’s life blood. Sophisticated criminal groups are also targeting the private sector both to steal valuable information and, especially in the case of ransomware, disrupt business operations. Drawing on over 30 years of firsthand experience, multi-award-winning cybersecurity veteran Chris Painter details the current threat, its evolution over the last two decades and makes the case for why senior leadership in your organization should care. He does this, in part, by drawing from real life cases and other examples from his long and distinguished career as a federal cybercrime prosecutor and senior Justice, White House and State Department official. He can also tailor his talk to go into greater depth on stories behind the high-profile cases he prosecuted and high-level negotiations he has led.

In the last few years, organizations have started to understand the scale of cybersecurity threats including online fraud, disinformation campaigns and cybercrimes emerging from all parts of the world. Russia’s Solar Winds campaign, China’s attack on the Microsoft Exchange and increasingly common ransomware attacks have also brought the issue home to the ordinary person, forcing businesses and governments to take the threats even more seriously, says multi-award-winning cybersecurity veteran Chris Painter, one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on cybercrime, cyber policy and cyber diplomacy. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience overseeing all aspects of U.S. and international cybersecurity, Painter outlines the policies governments have in place and how they work to protect organizations and individuals. He also makes recommendations on how firms should approach these issues, emphasizing that governments and tech firms can only do so much to protect systems and data. Finally, he discusses what we can expect from the future and how we can leverage what we’ve learned to create stronger awareness and protection practices going forward.

Russia has used cyber attacks both before and during its invasion of the Ukraine including an attack on a satellite communications system and attacks on power systems and other critical infrastructure.  Although some have debated how big a role cyber has played in the Ukraine conflict, it is clear that it has and continues to play a role. Moreover, many fear that Russia will use its significant cyber capabilities to go after both governments and companies in the west – including the U.S. – in retaliation for economic sanctions levied on Russia. In this talk, multi-award-winning cybersecurity veteran Chris Painter, one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on cybercrime, cyber policy and cyber diplomacy, discusses what we have seen so far in the Ukraine, lessons of cyber resilience demonstrated by Ukrainian defenders, and the possibility and implications of Russian reprisals against U.S and western companies. He also dives into what lessons can be drawn about the future and the need to prioritize cybersecurity and resilience for companies around the world.

In this talk, multi-award-winning cybersecurity veteran Chris Painter, one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on cybercrime, cyber policy and cyber diplomacy, paints a picture of the emerging world of international cyber threats and the diplomatic and other actions that the U.S. and other countries have employed to respond to them. He will address whether we are really in a state of “cyber war” and, whether or not that term is hyperbole, and what that means for the private sector organizations and individuals who are not willing combatants. Among other topics, he will discuss activities in the United Nations and other international forums, detail the story behind the U.S. negotiation and agreement with China on intellectual property theft, discuss the use of tools like economic sanctions and their effects, and discuss issues around deterrence (in particular why we have not yet done a great job of stopping malicious cyber activity particular from nation-states). Finally, he explains how both the threat and the geopolitical efforts to control international cyber threats will evolve in the coming years. In all of this, Painter will use real life examples and behind the scenes stories taken from his many years of frontline experience.