Appalachia Advance - CyberTech Conference

2024 - Appalachia Advance Event

Appalachia Advance2024 was held November 11, 2024, marking the third anniversary of the annual conference.  The full-day event, held at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York, PA kept to the previous year’s format which included general sessions as well as breakout sessions and roundtable discussions, allowing for specific focus on technical and leadership topics.  This year’s event was sponsored by LevelBlue, McKonly & Asbury, and the Technology Council of Central PA, with additional representation from industry associations CompTIA, MITRE, Lancaster Chamber, and the Philly Tech Council. 

The day included four general sessions, including two panels, two breakout presentations, and eight roundtable discussions.  While the conference was focused on cybersecurity, there were common threads that spanned throughout the day, across multiple speakers:

Artificial intelligence and machine learning, while not new, are still topics of discussion and concern for many organizations. (Are still topics garnering extensive interest and concern.) There is, and will continue to be, a balance of potential v. risk when it comes to using AI. 

The basics cannot be understated. Throughout all three years of Appalachia Advance, speakers and presentations often included emphasis of the importance of basics like consistent patching, phishing and employee training, MFA, and executive buy-in, to name a few. The reason we keep hearing about these basic steps is because there are still organizations that are not implementing these items for one reason or another. 

Nothing can replace the value of human interaction. Quality networking goes beyond connecting with the prospect of business or job opportunities. Appalachia Advance emphasizes opportunities to network with the goal of learning through collaboration.

Whether in the SMB or enterprise space, the challenges faced by those responsible for securing an organization are largely the same. End users remain highly risky (“People be clickin’”), executive buy-in is needed, and resources (time, money, people) are limited, regardless of an organization’s size.

 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!