CISO Forum Canada 2023: Securing the Digital Enterprise
The EC-Council CISO Forum Canada 2023 successfully brought together a prestigious assembly of top cybersecurity executives for an intensive, invite-only event dedicated to navigating the evolving threat landscape. The forum was hosted at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel & Suites, providing a focused environment for high-level strategy and collaboration.
Core Themes and Highlights
The 2023 forum’s primary focus was on executive strategy, cyber resilience, and the CISO’s role as a business enabler. Key discussions likely revolved around:
Cloud and AI Security:
With prominent representation from companies like Microsoft (Abbas Kudrati) and expertise in cloud defense, a major theme was securing complex, multi-cloud environments and anticipating AI-driven threats.
Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and GRC: CISOs from major organizations like OPG (Olivera Zatezalo), CN Rail (Vaughn Hazen), and utility sectors (Mark Dillon of Enova Power Corp) focused on ensuring operational technology (OT) security and meeting stringent governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) standards.
Leadership and Talent:
Discussions addressed the critical need for strong security leadership and strategic talent acquisition, supported by insights from advisors like Kelley Irwin and firms like RECREWMINT and PHELPS.
Venue, Speakers, and Sponsors
The forum leveraged the collective knowledge of Canada’s leading security experts and the resources of global technology partners.
Venue:
The event was hosted at the well-equipped Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel & Suites, an ideal location for an executive-level gathering requiring dedicated discussion spaces.
Speakers:
The speaker roster was exclusively composed of senior security leaders, emphasizing practical, real-world experience. Noteworthy participants included Abbas Kudrati (Microsoft’s Chief Cybersecurity Advisor), Octavia Howell (VP, CISO at Equifax Canada), Kashif Parvaiz (CISO at UHN), and Ragulan Sinnarajah (VP & Head of Cyber Security at Sobeys). This mix guaranteed discussions that were relevant to finance, healthcare, retail, and public sectors.
Sponsors:
The forum was heavily supported by a broad range of sponsors from technology innovators to regional partners. Top-tier support came from giants like AWS, BELL, IBM, JUNIPER NETWORKS, and MNP. Key security product sponsors included ARCTIC WOLF, VEEAM, GUARDICORE, and PROOFPOINT, ensuring delegates had exposure to leading defense solutions. Regional government and business partners, such as Durham REGION, Town of Ajax, and WHITBY ONTARIO CANADA, highlighted the strong community focus of the Canadian cybersecurity ecosystem.
YouTube Playlist
Related video content, including event footage and potentially session summaries, can be found via the organizer’s platform. For recordings and highlights, attendees and interested parties should check the official YouTube channel playlists provided by the host organization, siberX, at: https://youtu.be/iYLCiT59rTE?si=zrNW_alaNjV-zLIA
