Mike Miller Speaks: Taking Cybersecurity on Tour

We often get asked what makes our company different.  After all, there are more than half a million IT companies across the US, and if you were to spread that number evenly across all 50 states, that would mean there’s at least 10,000 IT companies in Pennsylvania.  So again, what makes us different?  There are a number of things that could be cited, from our culture to our service delivery to business philosophy and many more (check out our Core Values series on YouTube). 

One thing that is essential to us is our engagement with our community, both in our industry and geographically.  Speaking engagements are one way that we deliver on this key area.  Whether it be our own annual event, Appalachia Advance, a local partnership, a national stage, or a virtual webinar, we make a point of delivering useful information to our audiences.

Recently Appalachia Technologies’ Mike Miller had a full dance card, as grandma used to say.  Within a four-week period, Mike was booked for four presentations: two virtual conferences, one in-person conference, and one webinar where he served as the host of a panel.  He has shared some insights from these conferences, as well as what it means to him to be a presenter.

In late March, Mike’s speaking tour began in his home state of Missouri at the Springfield Tech Council’s STC Squared, an annual tech conference and expo.  There are a number of tech councils across the country, some of which have a stronger membership than others.  The Springfield Tech Council is thriving, holding large events like STC Squared that had about 500 in attendance.  During the conference, Mike presented “Cyber Security Trends of 23 and Looking On,” in which he discussed the threat landscape over the last two years and what we could see in 2024.  In particular, Mike called out the importance of understanding the risk of unprotected cloud, third-party risk, and human risk.  Third-party risk and cloud protection resonated with the audience, with many admitting to just trusting that third parties are doing their part to keep clients protected. 

After this in-person event, Mike pivoted to two virtual conferences.  In the first virtual conference, the TribalHub Cybersecurity Summit, the attendance was about 400 people for the full-day event.  TribalHub provides education and resources to tribes and tribal employees and is viewed as the lead platform for the community with respect to government, healthcare, and gaming industries.  In Mike’s presentation, “Leadership: Don't Become the Next Cyber Breach Headline,” he shared insights from his experience over the years and continued work as a vCISO that can make a positive impact in staying out of the headlines.  Not his first speaking engagement with TribalHub, he has enjoyed growing his relationship with them, crediting them as ‘simply great people.’  Much of Mike’s presentation was quoted in an article by CDC Gaming Reports and can be read HERE.

For his second virtual conference, Mike shifted gears with the Packt Cybersecurity Conference.  The event ran over three days, with Mike delivering the keynote address for the start of Day 2.  The presentation focused on cloud security, titled “Securing the Cloud: Navigating the Fundamentals of Cloud Security.”  “I always love speaking about these types of things because there is a huge need for people to understand the threats that exist and how they are being exploited,” he says.  This was the first time Mike spoke for Packt, having found him and his content on LinkedIn. 

Closing out his four-week streak, Mike led a panel webinar, comprised of members of the Appalachia Technologies team, that focused on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0.  The members of the panel represented a mix of voices and perspectives: vCISO and GRC experts, a penetration tester, and a senior executive.  The webinar not only broke down the changes to the CSF but also provided insight from the panel on the benefits of using it.  The webinar was very well attended by a mixture of those working in cybersecurity as well as those in management roles that are charged with making strategic decisions. A recap of the webinar's key takeaways can be found in our recent blog NIST CSF 2.0 (Part 2) - Webinar Breakdown and Insights.

As an organization, Appalachia Technologies feels strongly in engaging with the community both locally and nationally because we ultimately want organizations and consumers to be secure.  It is always a pleasure and an honor when we are invited to participate in speaking engagements, and Mike Miller is a great representation of our team of speakers.  If you have an upcoming event – conference or lunch-n-learn, in-person or virtual – and you would like to see how our team can provide value to your audience, visit our Speaker Request page, or contact us at or 888-277-8320.