Forge Institute’s Annual Cybersecurity Summit Sparks Essential Collaborations

The two-day summit brought together key members of the cyber community

Recently, Forge Institute concluded its Annual Cybersecurity Summit, which saw approximately 300 members of the cyber community participate in two days of intense collaboration. 

“This was so important for the state of Arkansas,” said Forge Institute founder and CEO Lee Watson, who played a key role in organizing the event. “Cyber and infosec is a rapidly growing revenue stream of our state’s economy, and it was gratifying to see so many in the public and private sectors on the same page.”

The Arkansas Cybersecurity Summit, which was held in Central Arkansas, brings industry, critical infrastructure organizations, academia (researchers and students), state and local government, federal agencies and military together to discuss global cyber threat activity, workforce programs/needs, and to raise awareness of opportunities/programs that help Arkansas robust its cyber defenses and increase economic prosperity for our state. This year’s focus was “Developing Arkansas as the Cyber Defense State.”

Summit topics included Securing the Defense Industrial Base to Grow Arkansas Jobs, Engaging State & Local Government in Cyber Defense, National Security Risks & Opportunities from Emerging Technologies and many more. The speakers hailed from all corners of the cybersecurity community, and included influential voices like Beth-Anne Bygum (Chief Security & Compliance Officer, Acxiom), Gary Vance (Chief Information Security Officer, Division of Information Systems, State of Arkansas), Chad Causey (Executive Director, Arkansas Aerospace & Defense Alliance), Dr. Philip Huff (Assistant Professor Cybersecurity, UA Little Rock), and numerous other seasoned professionals from industry. 

“Every day, this nation is exposed to hundreds of thousands of cyber-related crimes,” said Lee Watson. “Arkansas is a national hub for logistics, agriculture, data science, fintech and health care. Our goal is to protect those vital industries, but to also set Arkansas as the nation’s benchmark for all things cybersecurity.”

A Partial List of Additional Speakers:

• AJ Gary, Secretary of Public Safety & Director of Arkansas Division of Emergency Management

• Scott A. Anderson, Executive Director, Forge Institute

• Col. (Ret.) Rob Ator, Director, Military Affairs Council, State of Arkansas

• Wes Nickels, Chief of Staff, Forge Institute & Supervisory Special Agent (Ret.) USAF OSI

• Edward You, National Counterintelligence Officer for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, National Counterintelligence and Security Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

• Krishnan Chellakarai, VP, Chief Information Security Officer, Gilead Sciences

• Chad Causey, Executive Director, Arkansas Aerospace & Defense Alliance

• Malcolm Harkins, Chief Security & Trust Officer, Epiphany Systems

• Becky Passmore, VP Cyber Risk, Kroll

• Beth-Anne Bygum, SVP, Chief Security and Compliance Officer, Acxiom

• Lee Watson, Founder & CEO, Forge Institute

• Dawn Meyerriecks, Former Deputy Director of CIA for Science and Technology

• Rob Lee, Founder & CEO, Dragos

• Dr. Philip Huff, Assistant Professor Cybersecurity, UA Little Rock

In addition to the world-class speakers and content, Forge selected the first set of honorees to receive one of its prestigious Anvil Awards.

The 2022 Anvil Award honorees are: 

• Derick Couch

• Bill Yoder (ACDS)

• Dr. Philip Huff (UA Little Rock)

• Dr. Christy Drale (UA Little Rock)

• Crystal Hartman (Forge)

• Devin Shirley (AR BCBS)

• Beth-Anne Bygum (Acxiom)

• Stewart Miller

• Cody Waits (AR Dept. of Commerce)

We could not have run such a successful event without the incredible support from so many sponsors. The 2022 Cyber Summit sponsors included: Acxiom, Fortinet, Optiv, Edafio Technology Partners, UA Little Rock, Tyson Foods, Gentry Professional Services, Mainstream Technologies, SentinelOne, Cyware, Sullivan Wright Technologies, CriticalStart, Arkansas Aerospace & Defense Alliance, UA Pulaski Tech and the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas. 

The 2023 Cyber Summit will be held on October 3rd and 4th. Registration is now live at www.forge.institute/summit. 

Key Facts

• Approximately 300 cybersecurity leaders and defenders from all across Arkansas’ industry, critical infrastructure, academic, military, federal agencies and local and state government communities attended the two day event

• The Summit focused on programs and opportunities to lower risk and drive economic growth through private-public collaborations

• Sponsors included: Acxiom, Fortinet, Optiv, Edafio Technology Partners, UA Little Rock, Tyson Foods, Gentry Professional Services, Mainstream Technologies, SentinelOne, Cyware, Sullivan Wright Technologies, CriticalStart, Arkansas Aerospace & Defense Alliance, UA Pulaski Tech and the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas.