Overview

August 18

Government IT teams work incredibly hard to ensure their networks stay safe and secure. But despite their efforts, many organizations still have gaps in their security posture that are easy for bad actors to exploit.

Two important – and related – ways to close those gaps are hardware security keys and cyber insurance plans.

Hardware security keys address a significant challenge related to multifactor authentication (MFA). Many state and local government agencies that have deployed mobile-based authentication are experiencing MFA security gaps caused by employees that can’t, don’t or won’t use mobile authentication. These gaps increase the risk of successful phishing attacks and account takeovers.

In addition to MFA, effective cyber defense also includes cyber insurance. But without 100 percent MFA coverage, ensuring complete cyber insurance coverage across PII and critical data is difficult.

Join us August 18 at 11:00AM PT/2:00PM ET for a moderated panel discussion on these two crucial topics. Our panel of industry experts and public IT leaders – including Steve Nichols, the CTO of the Georgia Technology Authority; Shannon Lawson, the CISO for the city of Phoenix; and Yubico Public Sector Vice President Jeff Phillips – will discuss how hardware security keys complement mobile-based authentication to help agencies get to 100 percent MFA coverage and the best achievable cyber insurance.

Speakers

Shannon Lawson

ACIO/CISO, City of Phoenix

Mr. Shannon M. Lawson has a diverse background in the cybersecurity discipline and extensive military experience with the information and cryptologic warfare community. Shannon currently serves as the Chief Information Security Officer and holds the title of Chief Privacy Officer for the City of Phoenix. He is responsible for the information security and privacy programs for the 5th largest city in the United States, with over 30 city departments that service the needs of 1.7 million residents. Previous positions include Director of Cybersecurity at the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (formerly Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command), Command Information Assurance Manager for Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (formerly SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific), AUSGAR Technologies, SAIC, and a member of the National Security Agency’s Red Team. Mr. Lawson also served in the US Navy as a cryptologic technician and a cryptologic warfare officer.

Jeff Phillips

VP Public Sector, Yubico

Jeff Phillips is Vice President, Public Sector at Yubico, where he oversees federal and SLED activities in North America. Jeff is a technology industry veteran with over 25 years of experience in enterprise technology, cyber security, compliance, distributed architecture, IDM, and multi-factor authentication. Prior to Yubico, Jeff was focused on public sector engagements at Dell, SecureAuth, BeyondTrust, Quest Software, and NetPro. Jeff holds an active TS/SCI U.S. government clearance. When not working, Jeff enjoys traveling, golfing, hiking, scuba diving, fishing, and playing and watching all sports and spending time with his wife and two children.

Steve Nichols

CTO, Georgia Technology Authority

Steve Nichols, Ph.D. As CTO for the state of Georgia, Dr. Nichols advises the leadership of the Georgia Technology Authority and state agencies on technology issues. He has played a key role in important initiatives to modernize state government IT, including the privatization of IT infrastructure services and managed network services in 2009. Government Technology named Dr. Nichols as one of the nation’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers for 2012. The National Association of State CIOs awarded Dr. Nichols the State Technology Innovator award in 2017. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Deborah A. Snyder — Moderator

Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

Deborah is an accomplished C-level executive, influencer and educator who has dedicated her career to improving state and local government services for the citizens of New York state through policy and technology innovation. She has a broad range of experience in government, policy, cybersecurity, privacy and information technology. She recently retired from the position of New York state’s chief information security officer, where she led the state’s cybersecurity programs and directed the NYS Cyber Command Center. She works with organizations and universities to strengthen cybersecurity defenses and preparedness, and to create and inspire the next generation of cyber leaders.

Webinar

Closing the Gaps in Your Security Posture