Why we're gathering

AI changed the threat model. This is where Polk County's leaders catch up — together.

Today's threats generate flawless phishing lures, automate ransomware, and use everyday system tools and AI scripts to slip past signature-based defenses. The Polk County Security Summit brings CIOs, CISOs, and their teams into one room for a focused half-day of practical intelligence — what AI-written code means for your risk, hard-won lessons from putting AI into security operations, and the peer conversations that matter for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. No fluff, no hard sell.

🍊

AI-powered threats

How AI-generated phishing lures, AI-based ransomware, and defense-evading tradecraft actually work — and what holds up against them.

🎯

AI-written code

Agents now write and ship code in days. The guardrails and review processes to require before your teams ship code nobody has read.

⚙️

Governing AI

Emerging policy and governance for enabling AI innovation while managing real security risk.

🤝

AI in the SOC

Early lessons from applying AI to security operations — and its real effect on the people already doing the work.

The running order

Agenda

Four hours, built so IT leaders get the morning context and security practitioners get the afternoon implementation detail — and both sides have a reason to stay all day. BBQ lunch by The Cultivated Pig.

9:30 – 10:00 AM

Doors Open & Networking

Arrival, introductions, coffee, and informal networking.

10:00 – 10:10 AM

Welcome & Setting the Stage

Establishing the purpose of the day and introducing the Polk County CIO ThinkTank.

Led by Joshua Sitta & Chip Nuttall

10:10 – 10:40 AM

Building a Common Language: Traditional Threats, AI Threats & Agency

AI usage still lacks a standardized universal language. This session builds a common baseline for talking about internal and external AI use cases before the day moves into more advanced material.

Led by Joshua Sitta

10:40 – 11:20 AM

Who Read This Code?

Small AI-native teams, and the attackers you just heard about, now ship in days what used to take quarters: agents write the code, and a loop of reviews and checks ships it. This session covers the patterns your engineering teams are about to adopt, and the guardrails and review processes to require, so your organization can keep that pace without shipping code nobody has read.

Led by Matt Wagner

11:20 – 11:50 AM

Governing AI: Moving Before the Rules Are Finished

A provocative governance session for leaders who have to make AI usage and approval calls now. Surfaces the components of effective governance that are easiest to overlook.

Led by Zachary Eikenberry

11:50 – 12:10 PM

Lunch by The Cultivated Pig

Slow-smoked Lakeland BBQ, a stretch, and time to keep the conversations going before the second half. Lunch is reserved for registered guests.

12:10 – 12:50 PM

AI in Action: Initial Lessons from SOC Operations

Working through the first hurdles of applying AI to security operations — building operations from natural language, and how to define and design these solutions around your program's objectives.

Led by Garrett Poorbaugh

12:50 – 1:20 PM

AI Workforce Today: Efficiency, Effectiveness & Human Behavior

Introducing AI into daily operations demands intention about its impact on processes and on people. A look at the leading research on minimizing the adverse consequences of AI integration.

Led by Garrett Poorbaugh & Alex Delfino

1:20 – 1:50 PM

Closing Keynote

A practitioner who has led AI initiatives at Experian and founded his own cybersecurity firm closes out the program.

Led by Jonathan “Fezz” Fessenden

🍊 Session titles and leads are set. Slide content is finalized close to the event — the material moves too fast to build months ahead.

Who should attend

Built for the people accountable for security — and the students who'll inherit it

Admission

Free tickets

for students and IT leaders across Polk County and Central Florida.

Full-time and part-time students (with valid .edu or student ID)
IT & security leaders — CIO, CISO, Director, and VP roles
Lunch, coffee, and materials included

Claim your free seat →

You'll fit right in if you're a…

CIOCISOVP of IT Director of IT / SecurityNetwork & Security Engineer IT ManagerGRC / Compliance Deputy / Public Sector ITStudent in CS / Cyber / IT

Drawn from Polk County's banks, hospitals, universities, logistics, manufacturing, and county & city government — anchored by the Polk County CIO ThinkTank and open to the wider Central Florida community.

Presented by

Made possible by three teams who work where business, technology, and security meet

Strategic IT leadership, cybersecurity operations, and the human side of security — three firms that help organizations run smarter and safer, together underwriting a day of open, no-cost learning.

Lunch provided by

The Cultivated Pig

Founded by lifelong friends Kevin & Jimmy, The Cultivated Pig is more than a BBQ operation - it's a calling. Using quality hardwoods and time-honored techniques, they slow-smoke USDA Prime Brisket, spare ribs, pork belly, and pulled pork to perfection. Every plate is a labor of love, crafted to bring people together around the fire.

Interested in sponsoring or speaking? Get in touch →

Polk County Security Summit