Christopher Painter

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.

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.

When it comes to discussing cybersecurity issues and cyber technologies, CIOs and CISOs may sound like they are speaking their own language. This can be frustrating for executives and board members who need to understand the critical details of a cybersecurity plan and why it’s important and worth funding. In an era when cybercrime is rampant, and cybersecurity should be a major item on the agenda for companies of all sizes, especially international organizations, such a breakdown in communication can keep some leaders in the dark, which can lead to bigger problems. In this presentation, multi-award-winning cybersecurity veteran Chris Painter, one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on cybercrime, cyber policy and cyber diplomacy, helps non-tech leaders understand the threat in layman’s terms and why the board or other leaders should treat cyber threats as a mainline risk management issue. He outlines key questions they can ask to clarify issues and explains the importance of keeping lines of communication open in order to protect their firm from cyberattacks. This talk can also be delivered in a workshop format during which Painter artfully and effectively bridges conversations between non-tech and tech leaders in real time.

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.