TribalHub Membership

TribalHub Membership

2024 Tribal Cybersecurity Summit

Thank you to all who participated in this event! Save the date for next year- Thursday March 6, 2025! 

Agenda

*shown in Pacific Time Zone*

Times: Speaker: Session Name:
8:00am - 8:45am
Andy Jabbour
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Gate 15
Shawn Whitcomb
CISO
Cherokee Nation
Jake Stampfli
Information Security Manager
Viejas Casino & Resort
Bishal Thapa
Information Security Officer
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Opening Welcome and Keynote: Cybersecurity Organizational Structures and Best Practices Based Upon Tribe Size and Cyber Maturity Level

More Details We open the 2024 Cybersecurity Summit discussing the nationwide cybersecurity landscape and what that looks like across the 574 federally recognized tribes and their tribal enterprises. Although they share similarities, tribes have a diverse range of challenges and are represented in many different sizes. A singular approach to cybersecurity across all tribes is unrealistic and ineffective. In this session our presenter(s) discuss challenges and beneficial strategies for tribes of different sizes, resource availability and at varying cybersecurity maturity levels.
8:45am - 9:15am
Brent Hutfless
Executive Director, IT Security
Wind Creek Hospitality
Robby Jakovljevic
Director of IT
Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians

Breakout- Tribes with 1 or less dedicated cyber resources: Best bang for your limited cyber budget

More Details Cybersecurity is critical to minimizing risk and creating a safer digital environment - regardless of the amount of funding or resources you have available. Just as we need to protect our own personal phones, computers, online devices and personal data, every organization must do the same for their employees and infrastructure. In this session we will speak specifically to tactics to do this effectively with a limited budget and resources.
8:45am - 9:15am
Greg Pitts
Director of Information Security
Cache Creek Casino Resort
Matt Moon
CIO
Four Winds Casino

Breakout- Tribes with 2 to 5 dedicated cyber resources: Best structure, job titles and optimization for a medium sized cyber team

More Details This session is all about aligning and structuring the limited number of cybersecurity human resources you have to best meet the overwhelming 24x7x365 cybersecurity needs of the entire tribe or tribal enterprise. What are the job titles, duties and organizational structure that will make the best use of your human resources?
8:45am - 9:15am
Glenn Wilson
CISO
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
Christopher Felix
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

Breakout- Tribes with 5+ dedicated cyber resources: Emerging cyber trends and threats to tribes

More Details It is great to see that more tribes each year have the financial ability and forward thinking tribal leadership mindset to invest in their cybersecurity and digital security infrastructure. In this session we continue that forward looking preparedness strategy by looking at emerging cyber trends and cyber threats to all tribal organizations and their enterprises
9:30am - 10:00am
Ivan Lomeli
IT Security Manager – Architecture & Engineering
Cache Creek Casino Resort

Breakout- Technical: Vulnerability Management- What is it? And best practices

More Details Tribes are diverse organizations that most often span across government, gaming, hospitality, healthcare, and a variety of other enterprises. Understanding what vulnerability management is and how to implement best practices is critical to reducing risk in any organization. This session is all about strategies and tactics to tighten those practices.
9:30am - 10:00am
Mike Miller
vCISO
Appalachia Technologies

Breakout- Leadership: Don't become the next cyber breach headline

More Details No tribal executive or cyber leader wants to become the next nationwide cyber headline. This session is intended to help you learn from what we know about past cyber breaches and discuss some of the practices you can implement at your own tribe to not be the next cyber headline.
9:30am - 10:00am
Don Assalone
Director, Global Cybersecurity, IT
Mohegan

Breakout- Specialized: Securing the AI revolution

More Details Rather than a slow evolution of a new technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming at all of us like a revolution with the potential to be a very disruptive technology change across our tribal organizations.  AI has tribal executives and their cybersecurity teams on edge without a clear path to both harness and govern the use of AI in their organization.  This session is all about sharing some practical steps that every tribe can be taking today to get ahead of this AI revolution, protect their tribe and data, and still remain able to harness the potential benefits of AI.
10:15am - 11:00am
Industry Representatives from: MS-ISAC, Tribal-ISAC, FEMA, CISA

Panel Session: Get Better Connected to your Tribal Resources

More Details Join this session to better understand and get connected to valuable cyber security resources available to all tribes and tribal enterprises. From the latest on cyber funding through the Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program to updates on what you need to know and pay attention to in 2024 from industry resources. Additionally, if your tribe is not already participating in the Tribal-ISAC, you can learn more about this cybersecurity resource and information sharing community that every tribe should be a part of.
11:00am - 11:45am  

Virtual Tradeshow - meet industry solution providers

More Details Take some time to connect to and learn about a few of the products and solutions that are availabe to your tribe on our virtual tradeshow floor. We all want to work with solution providers that support the tribal community, and all of these exhibitors have done just that by making this virtual event possible.
11:45am - 12:45pm  

Security Solutions- Discovery Session

More Details This is your opportunity to up your knowledge and game while you sit back and quickly learn about multiple cybersecurity solutions available to your tribe. Get informed, aware and more knowledable on a number of vendors and cyber products and services in one short hour.
12:45pm - 1:15pm
Renita DiStefano
President and CEO
SECOND DERIVATIVE, LLC

Breakout- Technical: Overcoming the Hurdles to Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

More Details Are we still talking about and trying to fully implement MFA across our tribe and tribal enterprises? We all know the answer is probably "YES", and in this session we identify many of the challenges any tribe often faces that make full MFA adoption and implementation a challenge to achieve.
12:45pm - 1:15pm
Cliff Steinhauer​
Director, Information Security & Engagement
National Cybersecurity Alliance

Breakout- Leadership: How threat actors target leadership and key employees- what you need to be aware of

More Details We can all be a target of various digital threats, but your organizations executive and key team members are being singled out and targeted at an increasingly higher rate. In this session we discuss what you need to know and strategies to mitigate this growing threat.
12:45pm - 1:15pm
Matt Moon
CIO
Four Winds Casino
Kevin Holleran
Founder
Hollasec Information Security

Breakout- Specialized: The keys to improving your penetration testing and selecting the right partner

More Details All penetration testing is not created equal. Are you really getting what you need out of your planned network, data and infrastructure penetration testing? This session discusses what you should look for and demand in your cyber penetration testing from leaders that have been there and done that.
1:15pm - 2:00pm
Steven Nino
CIO
Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians

Closing Remarks and Keynote: Aligning Executives, Business, Employees and Cybersecurity

More Details Our closing keynote will leave you with practical ways to effectively bridge the gap between the tribe, tribal enterprises, executive team and the cybersecurity team resources that prevent you from achieving your cybersecurity goals and needs. Cybersecurity is an organizational challenge that requires everyone's participation, understanding and diligence to be effective. The challenge of creating effective communication and understanding among tribal executives and the organizations cybersecurity resources continues to be problematic and a roadblock to success.

Why Attend? Hear from your Peers: 

“Cybersecurity is an organizational responsibility, not an IT initiative. Ensuring there is broad exposure to the threat landscape at all levels in an organization is key, especially at the senior level, as support of the investment required to protect the organization is imperative. At the Tribal Cybersecurity Summit, you will gain a deeper understanding of current trends/challenges that tribes are facing collectively and hear from experts in the field as well as some of your peers on strategies to fend off the bad guys. We are stronger together!” Toni Pepper, CEO, Pepper Consulting. LLC

“Today, more than ever, it is imperative for business leadership to understand the risk that cyber threats present to the business and how cybersecurity can mitigate the risk effectively. Knowledge and awareness are the critical investments great leaders can make to provide the best financial, security and business decisions for their organization. The Tribal Cybersecurity Summit will provide every Leader with insightful and valuable knowledge which will allow you to ask proper questions, invest in key areas and understand the risks presented by your technologists.” Lee Edberg, Cyber Security Manager, SMSC Gaming Enterprise

 

What’s the Value in Attending?

  • Learn about the critical role and responsibilities of Tribal Executives, Tribal Regulators and Tribal technology resources in protecting and preparing your tribe or tribal enterprise
  • Build and gain insight into the necessary and critical investments required for cybersecurity
  • Learn about what costly information security mistakes to avoid in order to minimize the risk of your tribe or enterprise being a victim or target- don’t be next
  • Enhance existing knowledge of security tools and best practices
  • Ability to learn more about what other tribes are doing to improve their security posture
  • Understand the availability of more tools and resources
  • Make connections with peers, industry experts along with tribal and federal entities

Who Should Attend?

Executive Level Decision Makers in Tribal Gaming:

  • CEOs
  • GMs
  • Finance
  • Gaming Commission
  • Regulators
  • Risk Management

Executive Level Decision Makers at Tribal Government and Health Facilities:

  • Tribal Council/Administration
  • Executive Directors
  • Health Directors

Information Technology Department:

  • CIOs
  • IT Directors and Managers
  • CISOs
  • and other Security Related titles in IT

Advisory Board Members

Special thanks to this group of industry leaders for their help in developing an event agenda packed full of timely and relevant topics. 

Don Assalone

Director, Global Cybersecurity, IT

Mohegan

BIO

Don Assalone is the Director of Global Cybersecurity for Mohegan with 25+ years of Information Security leadership experience. Don has a wealth of knowledge and experience leading cyber security teams in a multitude of industries from health care, financial services, and retail.  He leads the Cyber Security team in CT and works across all Mohegan properties to help streamline and standardize processes, deploy training and awareness to end users, document, and test incident response, monitor compliance, and refine existing cyber tools. Assalone and his family volunteer in their community, and local Food Bank, and are avid travelers who enjoy frequent cruises and trips to Disney.

Stephen Bailey

VP of IT

Cache Creek Casino Resort

 

BIO

Bailey comes to Cache Creek from The Venetian in Las Vegas. Drawing also on experience in Silicon Valley and the retail sector, Bailey’s resume reflects both the deep knowledge and broad skillset it takes to handle the technology demands of a complex organization. While his purview will be Cache Creek’s technology systems, Bailey says his success will start with people. By starting with the customer and working backward, while finding and developing the best personnel, he believes he will be able to strengthen Cache Creek’s existing systems and deliver new capabilities.

Travis Brun

Information Security Manager

Casino Arizona

BIO

Travis Brun was born and raised in Chandler, Arizona. Enlisted in the Army from 2007-2015 and National Guard 2015-2021. Been in IT for over 15 years starting from Army Helpdesk to Department of Defense Regional cyber center. Over 5 years building and training electric vehicle start-ups in Arizona until finally accepting a position in the Casino Arizona family in September of 2022. Along with a professional career in Information Security I work as a veteran transition ambassador with a 501 (c) Non-profit Valor’s Veterans Community ensuring local veterans have all resources needed for a seamless transition to civilian life.

Brent Hutfless

Executive Director, IT Security

Wind Creek Hospitality

BIO

Brent Hutfless leads the information security program for Wind Creek Hospitality, the gaming and hospitality enterprise of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Wind Creek offers a variety of hotel, casino, dining, shopping, and entertainment venues at 10 locations throughout the US and Caribbean. Prior to his transition into gaming and hospitality, he held technology and security leadership roles at US Navy headquarters-level commands and a top US Federal contractor. His career covers active-duty service, aviation, defense, gaming, hospitality, healthcare, intelligence, manufacturing, and training. Brent holds degrees in Computer Science from Troy University and Software Engineering from the University of West Florida, in addition to CISSP and Medical Informatics certifications. He has contributed to post-secondary textbooks, peer-reviewed medical research, and enjoys presenting subjects like artificial intelligence, dark web, foreign espionage, hacking, identity theft, and other interesting topics that educate and entertain.

Robby Jakovljevic

Director of IT

Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians

 

BIO

I am a dedicated IT professional with a passion for cybersecurity and a proven track record of driving positive change in both people and systems. With a keen eye for trends and a relentless commitment to enhancing operations, I inspire individuals and teams to thrive in both business and life while ensuring the utmost security of digital assets. My career is marked by a deep focus on cybersecurity, where I have consistently improved customer experiences, provided critical research and analysis, and played a pivotal role in system design and implementation with a strong emphasis on safeguarding against cyber threats. As an IT Director, I have elevated IT infrastructure, policies, and processes, working collaboratively with stakeholders to support business growth while enhancing the organization’s cybersecurity posture with new resources and guidance.

 

Matt Moon

CIO

Four Winds Casino

BIO

Matt Moon is an Information Technology and Casino Executive with 22 years total Casino I.T. leadership experience and 29 years in the I.T. field.  He has worked at and opened Tribal and Commercial casinos in Louisiana, California, Michigan, and Indiana.  Matt has been a part of the Four Winds team since 2007, holding the VP of IT position, and now serves as the Four Winds CIO for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi’s four casinos.  Matt is a veteran of the United States Air Force, and holds a B.A. in Mathematics.

Greg Pitts

Director of Information Security

Cache Creek Casino Resort

 

BIO

Greg is currently the Director of Information Security at Cache Creek Casino Resort in Northern California.  He originally started his IT experience at Sac & Fox Casino in Kansas.  18 years later, Greg has gained valuable casino and hospitality experience both domestic and international.  His leadership roles in Product Management, IT Service Management and Information Security have provided a holistic view on pragmatic best practices.  Greg is new to being a speaker and believes in a continuous growth mindset, so he is excited to share his knowledge with other passionate IT and security professionals.

Bishal Thapa

Information Security Officer

Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

 

BIO

Meet Bishal Thapa, an Information Security Officer at the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa hailing from the picturesque landscapes of Nepal. Bishal initially pursued a career as an Environmental Lab Scientist for 11 years and contributed in protecting the environment and improve health and well-being of people. Driven by passion and curiosity for technology and cybersecurity, he transitioned into the realm of Information Security 4 years ago. Bishal has honed his skills over the past two years, safeguarding the digital infrastructure of a tribal organization. His journey reflects not only a commitment to adaptability but also a passion for protecting valuable data in the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity. Bishal Thapa embodies the fusion of traditional values with cutting-edge technology in his professional journey.

Reese Weber

Chief Information Security & Privacy Officer

Indian Health Service, CA Area Office

 

BIO

Reese Weber, MBA, CISSP, is the Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer for Indian Health Service at the California Area Office in Sacramento, CA. In this role, she works with Federal, Tribal and Urban healthcare facilities throughout California to improve their cybersecurity posture, technical infrastructure, privacy and security policies, and HIPAA compliance. In her 10 years at IHS, she served as both the System Administrator and Information System Security Officer (ISSO) before becoming the California Area Office CISO. Prior to joining Indian Health Service, she served as an ISSO for the Department of Defense, and before that, as a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force. Reese holds an MBA from Brandman University, a graduate certificate in Public and Non-Profit Leadership, a BBA in Information Systems, and the highest information security credential, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). Her combined 20 years of civil service has given her a wide breadth of IT, security and leadership experience that lends to her passion and enthusiasm for all things cybersecurity. Reese has a mild (read: major) Disney obsession; and she loves traveling with her family.

Glenn Wilson

CISO

San Manuel Band of Mission Indians

BIO

Like you, Mr. Wilson is driven to help raise the bar on security by lowering risk. With over three decades of information security, speaking, and most importantly, real-life, in-the-trenches technical experience, his view on security can be radically different. He has the keen ability to translate complex technical issues into plain English for executives and other decision makers in the enterprise.

Paul Wirszyla

Security Analyst

Sycuan Casino and Resort

 

BIO

Paul Wirszyla currently works for Sycuan Casino and Resort as a Security Analyst. He has had an exciting, yet odd, 13-year career path in IT. Paul began his career studying port numbers while washing trays and taking orders in a McDonald’s drive-thru while attending ITT Tech for his bachelor’s in Cybersecurity. From there, the McDonald’s franchise he worked for promoted him to Operations Technology Person Level 3. Paul was a one-person help desk for 18 stores in San Diego County. A few years later, he managed to get a network administrator job at Barona Casino and Resort for the Surveillance department. In this case, The Network Administrator was tasked with servicing everything IT-related in the Surveillance department. In 2020, he went for his Master’s in Cybersecurity Engineering at the University of San Diego, and shortly after that, he went for the gold standard Cybersecurity certification, the CISSP, and got that as well. He has a passion for Cybersecurity and is excited to be here!

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TribalHub is a proud supporter of the Tribal-ISAC – a newly formed and growing network of trusted community members working at tribal governments, tribal health centers and tribal gaming facilities. Join this community today to improve your tribe’s cybersecurity posture. Learn more at Tribal-ISAC.

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