Appalachia Advance - CyberTech Conference

2023 - Appalachia Advance Event

Appalachia Advance2023 marked the 2nd annual CyberTech event, with an expanded full-day format that included general sessions, as well as technical and leadership breakout tracks.  Advance2023 drew leading cybersecurity experts from across the country, representing some of the largest global cybersecurity and technology companies, as well as industry vendors.  With experts from AT&T and Google, the FBI, and experts from area organizations and Appalachia, attendees were provided practical information that could be applied to their organizations immediately.

While there were multiple sessions across various topics, there were some recurring themes that left an impression:

• Master the basics.  We can find ourselves distracted by buzzwords and what’s hot while missing out on some of the most basic concepts. If your organization is not regularly patching and updating systems or providing security training for employees, the flashiest new-to-market tool is not the best spend of time, energy, or limited budget. 
• Incident Response Plans that are regularly tested will allow for the greatest opportunity to respond – and recover - quickly should an incident occur. Having your response team in order ahead of an event is crucial.
• While Artificial Intelligence is receiving increased attention in the mainstream, has been used for many years to improve efficiencies. With the rapid pace of development and adoption over the last year and foreseeable future, regulations and policy are being created at the federal, state, and local levels. Organizations will need to consider the risks and benefits to data security when discussing AI usage. 
• Build v. Partner - Organizations of all sizes need to balance their IT and cybersecurity staffing needs with budget constraints. There may not be a singular indicator to determine whether it is better to build internally or explore partnership. Instead, a broader view of organizational goals balanced with current staff skills and workload should be considered along with budget.

This year’s event included roundtable sessions, created to promote dialogue among presenters and attendees.  The Central PA community is important to Appalachia Technologies, and one goal of Advance is to bring together our community to network and exchange challenges and wins so that we can all benefit.  A company core value is We Improve and Evolve – the roundtable sessions were built on this concept.  Post event surveys have indicated that the roundtable sessions hit the mark by providing deeper knowledge on key topics while allowing participants to engage with the presenters and peers.  We look forward to evolving the roundtable portion of the event in 2024!

 If you were unable to join us this year but don't want to miss out on the information and resources we shared, please complete the form on the right and we will share access with you!