Critical Infrastructure Leaders and Former National Security Officials Address Escalating Cyber Threats at Exclusive GCIS Security Briefing

Invitation-only event featured former NSA and Cyber Command Director General Paul Nakasone and former FBI Director Christopher Wray alongside critical infrastructure executives in high-trust discussion on protecting America's essential systems

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Global Cyber Innovation Summit (GCIS) convened an exclusive Security Briefing recently hosted at One World Trade Center, bringing together distinguished critical infrastructure executives, former national security officials, technologists, policy experts, and select members of the press for a focused discussion entitled "National Security Threats to US Critical Infrastructure."

The invitation-only briefing covered the escalating threat landscape, effective response strategies, how CEOs and boards of directors must prepare, and next steps to protect America's critical infrastructure from increasingly sophisticated attacks. The discussion emphasized that organizations must fundamentally rethink how they ensure the security and integrity of their systems, networks, and data.

The briefing was opened with welcome remarks by Bob Ackerman, Founder and Chairman of GCIS, followed by a strategic briefing from Ida Kristensen, Senior Partner and co-Leader of the Risk & Resilience Practice at McKinsey & Company, and highlighted that the global economy faces an estimated $31.1 billion average risk associated with operational technology (OT) cybersecurity breaches over the next 12 months.

The centerpiece fireside panel on "National Security & Critical Infrastructure" featured:

• General Paul Nakasone, Former Director of NSA and U.S. Cyber Command
• Christopher Wray, Former Director, FBI
• Bill Fehrman, CEO, American Electric Power
• Rob Lee, CEO & Co-Founder, Dragos, and Lieutenant Colonel, US Army National Guard
• Moderated by James Rundle, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

The panel explored how sophisticated threat actors are developing OT-specific attack capabilities that demonstrate deep knowledge of industrial systems and protocols, with ransomware attacks targeting industrial organizations increasing significantly as modern campaigns are specifically designed to enter through IT networks and pivot to OT systems.

Thomas Fanning, Former Executive Chairman & CEO of Southern Company, delivered the keynote address emphasizing the critical need for cross-functional collaboration between IT security, OT teams, and executive leadership. Fanning, who served for nearly a decade as co-chair of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, stressed that OT cybersecurity must become a regular agenda item in board and executive meetings.

"The threats we discussed today aren't just about stolen data—they're about keeping the lights on, the water flowing, and our communities safe," said Bob Ackerman, Chairman of GCIS, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, DataTribe, Founder and Managing Director, AllegisCyber. "When critical infrastructure is compromised, we're talking about real-world consequences that affect every American's daily life."

Video highlights are now available at: https://globalcybersummit.org/us-critical-infrastructure-national-security-briefing/

The event was hosted by Worldwide Technology (WWT) and Qrypt, both leaders in providing cybersecurity solutions for critical infrastructure environments.

About the Global Cyber Innovation Summit

The annual Global Cyber Innovation Summit (GCIS) convenes the Fortune 200 CISO community, US National Intelligence and US National Law Enforcement, cyber technology innovators, policy and thought leaders for the exchange of ideas, discussion, and collaboration designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of cybersecurity strategies and solutions. As a not-for-profit, vendor-agnostic platform, GCIS serves as a focal point in the cyber community dedicated to thought leadership, fostering innovation, and driving collective action to address today’s most critical cybersecurity challenges.