Learning eXchange Track:

Cybersecurity Issues in 2026

Partial List of Presenters

Overview
Join us for engaging discussions on cybersecurity, featuring four expert speakers who will cover cutting-edge topics shaping the industry. Each session will offer practical insights, highlight emerging trends, and provide actionable strategies to help professionals enhance their security stance in an ever-evolving threat landscape. This event aims to promote learning, dialogue, and collaboration among practitioners dedicated to safeguarding digital environments.

Securing the Future: Embracing New Digital Certificate Standards

Xavier Belanger

• IT Security Architect
• UNCW / Information Technology Services
• Xavier_Belanger@linkedin.com
  
  
• Bio: Xavier has more than 25 years of experience working in high education organizations as system administrator, network administrator and now as IT security architect at UNCW.
  
  He has a specific interests around cryptographic tools and mechanisms used to protect sensitive data and user identity

• Session Details: We are now in 2026 and managing security certificates gets a little more challenging.
  
  We’ll discuss new requirements around reduced certificate lifetime (47 days!), adoption of TLS 1.3 and preparation for post-quantum cryptography (PQC).

The Internet of Things (IoT) Onboarding Capability (IoTOC)

C. Neil Fitzpatrick

• Senior Manager
• Quanterion Solutions
• C.Neil_Fitzpatrick@linkedin.com
  
  
• Bio: C. Neil Fitzpatrick is a professional with expertise in technology integration, information/knowledge management, process documentation and analysis (including Lean Six Sigma), modeling and simulation, cybersecurity, system planning, project management, and requirements-to-solutions development.
  
  He holds a Master of Science in Modeling Virtual Environments & Simulation from the Naval Postgraduate School (2007), a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems from the University of Phoenix (2003), and a Bachelor of Environmental Design from Texas A&M University (1990), complemented by Command & Staff College during his military career. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps active forces for 20 years retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2015 as a Communications Officer, Modeling & Simulation Officer, and Intelligence Analyst-Spanish Linguist.
  
  After retirement, he has led impactful projects including managing a secure multi-cloud IoT environment for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, agile development of the Marine Corps's mobile onboarding app (Converge), and the creation of an 8-hour online Knowledge Management training course. His military deployments included Colombia, Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
  
  Mr. Fitzpatrick has also authored publications on military process modeling, cloud computing adoption in the Marine Corps and training method, reflecting his thought leadership in training, and modernizing information systems and operations.

• Session Details: The Air Force is addressing the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and the data they are generating from locations worldwide to fight and win tomorrow’s battles. Military operations face numerous “big data” challenges that require new methods for conducting high fidelity testing and evaluation, yet there is no known developmental testing environment addressing IoT/Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices/Internet of Military Things (IoMT), their placement within a network, the voluminous data they produce, and other ancillary challenges within the Air Force. The IoT Onboarding Capability (IoTOC) and the underlying framework for IoT/IIoT/IoMT evaluation are specifically intended to address this demand signal. IoTOC Phase II applies the model developed in Phase I to a variety of use cases, identifying benefits/shortfalls, and refining the model for scaling to support onboarding heterogeneous IoT/IIoT/IoMT solutions.
  
  Without such a comprehensive approach, organizations currently implement IoT/IIoT projects in an ad hoc manner, which can then introduce device, as well as system to system, security risks that may not be anticipated. Such implementations can obscure the systems’ attack surface and place sensitive military information, operations, systems, and Defense Critical Infrastructure (DCI) at significant risk of exploitation.
  
  The provisioning of tools for test and validation, as well as technical expertise in IoT/IIoT/IoBT Developmental Test and Evaluation (DT&E), are needed to harden future IoT solutions.

Cybersecurity Leader’s Guide to Developing an Adversarial Mindset

Thomas Hill

• CISO
• nCino
• Thomas_Hill@linkedin.com
  
  
• Bio: Thomas serves as nCino’s Chief Information Security Officer, leading cybersecurity and technology compliance. He has more than 25 years of technology and industry experience, with cybersecurity expertise specializing in security for Fintech, Digital Banking, and Cloud Security.
  
  He holds a Bachelors of Management of Information Systems, an MBA with concentrations in Cyber Security, and holds many industry certifications in security and privacy (i.e., CISSP, CISM, and CIPT).

• Session Details: For university students pursuing cybersecurity careers and industry professionals: master the adversarial mindset that separates good security professionals from great ones. Develop critical thinking skills to identify vulnerabilities, anticipate threats, and strengthen systems before attacks occur. Core competencies for careers in cybersecurity, law, consulting, and any field demanding critical analysis in a complex digital landscape.