The sixth annual (ISC)2 Security Congress started Sunday evening, September 11, with a Town Hall members-only meeting and reception in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. David Shearer, CEO of (ISC)2, introduced key members of the organization leadership in an interview-style conversation. Among them were Patrick Craven, director of the Center for Cyber Safety and Education [formerly the (ISC)2 Foundation]; Mirtha Collin, senior manager of education; Dr. Casey Marks, director of examinations and customer experience; and Dan Waddell, managing director North America. Steven Hernandez, vice chair of the Board of Directors, was also a member of the panel.

Panel members discussed their role with (ISC)² before addressing questions from members—some submitted prior, others asked in person—about a variety of topics, including the global scope of the organization, education plans, and opportunities for exam development.

Another focus of the annual Town Hall meeting was introducing Dr. Cybrina, CISSP, as part of the new Safe and Secure Online program, provided by the Center for Cyber Safety and Education. Dr. Cybrina is a cartoon cat—and a member of the Paws family—created by Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield. The Safe and Secure Online program will now feature Garfield and friends in the form of cartoons, comic books, activity books, calendars, and more. The focus of the program is to teach children how to be safe and secure online.

Education sessions at the annual event were split into 12 tracks:

Application Security/Software Assurance

Cloud Security

Digital Forensics

Governance, Regulation, and Compliance

Incident Response

Malware

Mobile Security

People-centric Security

Professional Development

Swiss Army Knife

Threat Intelligence

Threats



Highlights included a session on diversity in the industry, with (ISC)2 COO Wes Simpson on a panel with Elise Yacobellis of (ISC)2, Gurdeep Kaur, Larry Whiteside, and Brandon Dunlap. Minorities, flexibility, and transparency were discussed as keys to solving the cyber workforce shortage.

(ISC)² CEO David Shearer also participated on a panel on "Hiring, Building, and Retaining Top Security Talent" with Deidre Diamond, founder and CEO of Cyber Security Network, and Kevin Flanagan, CISSP. Even with a shortage of qualified professionals, job hunting is still a challenge in the workforce. Panelists discussed ways to recruit and retain a qualified and motivated team.

Thursday morning was the (ISC)² General Session—presented by Stan Dolberg and Phil Gardner from IANS Security. The focus of their talk was on "CISO Impact: Driving Security into the Business." They presented data from thousands of security professionals, which has helped them develop a system for CISOs to empower their employees and improve security for their organizations. Their talk, "CISO Impact: Driving Security into the Business," presented data from thousands of security professionals. They have developed a system in which CISOs can empower their employees and improve security for their organizations. Impactful CISOs proactively engage with their business using every soft skill they can develop. The IANS CISO Impact process is to review, via a diagnostic, the technical experience of an organization, as well as the organization engagement—both are key to success. (ISC)² members are invited to take the CISO Impact diagnostic for free using the following link: https://isc2org2016.iansresearch.com

To see the events as they unfolded at the 2016 (ISC)² Security Congress, visit https://twitter.com/isc2congress