Amy Steagall
Chief Information Security Officer | Stanford University IT
Amy Steagall is the Chief Information Security Officer at Stanford University overseeing Stanford’s efforts to protect its computing and information assets and to comply with information-related laws, regulations, and policies.
Prior to joining the Stanford team in 2020, Amy retired from the United States Air Force after 25 years of distinguished and honorable service. Throughout her career, she led large organizations and teams, culminating in her role at the Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber at NSA Texas. There she steered cyber mission teams operating in complex security environments and specializing in offensive and defensive cyberspace operations.
Amy holds a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity Management and Policy from the University of Maryland.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 9:00 - 9:15 A.M. & 1:30 - 2:30 P.M.
Title: Welcome Remarks & Live Recording of CISO Series Podcast
Chenxi Wang, PhD
Founder & General Partner | Rain Capital
Dr. Chenxi Wang is the Founder and General Partner of Rain Capital, a Silicon Valley-based venture fund. A well-known investor, technologist, and thought leader in the Cybersecurity industry, Dr. Wang is also the founder of the Forte Group, an advocacy non-profit for women in tech, and she serves on the Board of Directors for MDU Resources, a Fortune 500 energy company. Previously, Chenxi held a number of executive positions at Twistlock, Intel, and Forrester Research and as Vice-Chair on the global board of directors for the OWASP Foundation. Chenxi was named by Fortune as one of the Top Cyber Investors in the world, and by Cyber Risk Alliance as Women Investor of 2021. She was recognized as Women-of-Influence by SC Magazine. In 2023, Chenxi received Women in AI award from Venturebeat.
Chenxi’s career began as a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University, where she helped found the Cybersecurity Lab of Carnegie Mellon. Chenxi is a trusted advisor to IT executives and a sought-after keynote speaker. She has headlined events worldwide and been featured by top media outlets for her thought leadership work. Chenxi holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Virginia.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 9:15 - 9:45 A.M.
Title: Artificial Intelligence in Cyber: A Weapon or A Magic Bullet?
Nigam Shah, MBBS, PhD
Professor of Medicine | Stanford University
Chief Data Scientist | Stanford Health Care
Dr. Nigam Shah is Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, and Chief Data Scientist for Stanford Health Care. His research is focused on bringing AI into clinical use, safely, ethically and cost-effectively. Dr. Shah is an inventor on eight patents, has authored over 300 scientific publications, and has co-founded three companies.
Dr. Shah was inducted into the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) in 2015 and the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) in 2016. He holds an MBBS from Baroda Medical College, India, a PhD from Penn State University and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 9:50 - 10:25 A.M.
Title: Responsible Adoption of AI in Healthcare
Megha Srivastava
Computer Science Ph.D. Student | Stanford University
Megha Srivastava is a fourth-year Ph.D. student at Stanford University, co-advised by Dorsa Sadigh and Dan Boneh. She is interested in addressing issues of reliability in machine learning models within the broader context of human-AI interaction. In addition to being supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program and IBM Ph.D. Fellowships, Srivastava's research has been recognized with an ICML Best Paper Runner-Up Award and was selected as a Rising Star in Machine Learning in 2023.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 10:30 - 11:00 A.M.
- Title: Security Challenges in Modern Machine Learning Systems
- This talk focuses on identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities within modern, large-scale AI systems. This includes identifying inference-time attack vectors, such as adversarial attacks, and addressing new security challenges that arise from the increasingly popular trend of model training service providers or accidental breaches introduced by users of modern code-generation models. By addressing these security challenges and considering broader issues of AI security and trust, our goal is to enhance the reliability and trustworthiness of AI applications in critical domains.
Louw Smith
Senior Security & Data Privacy Engineer | Harvard University
As a senior security engineer at Harvard University, Louw is involved in the day-to-day work for security operations and incident response. He specializes in bringing large-scale data analysis techniques, such as deep learning, to cybersecurity operations. Working primarily with academic and research institutions he has over 16 years of experience in higher education and the government sector. Deeply interested in the intersection between security and privacy, he is always open to productive collaborations.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 11:00 - 11:30 A.M.
Title: Deep Learning for Compromised Account Detection
David Colombo
CEO & Founder | Colombo Technology
David Colombo is a 22-year-old noted technology entrepreneur from Germany, keynote speaker, advisory board member, and a globally recognized expert in cyber security. His journey into tech began at the age of 10 with coding, and by 13, he had uncovered his first security vulnerability. At 15, he obtained special permission to leave full-time schooling, and by 17, he founded Colombo Technology with the aim of positively influencing technology and addressing pressing cybersecurity challenges.
David’s research has made significant impacts on major corporations and government bodies, including Tesla, Red Bull, and the United Nations. His work has been featured internationally by media outlets such as Bloomberg, CNN, and Business Insider. In August 2022, David took on a role as an Advisory Board member for the VC-backed startup, Legit Security.
David is a frequent podcast guest and delivers keynotes at major global conferences, including the World Government Summit, BlackHat, and GISEC in technology, innovation, and cyber security. Currently, he is developing a new VC-backed startup aimed at closing critical gaps in the cybersecurity industry by leveraging new and emerging technology.
For the latest updates on his work, visit his LinkedIn profile.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 1:00 - 1:30 P.M. & 3:00 - 4:00 P.M.
- Title: Securing AI and Securing with AI, That’s the Question
- This keynote delves into the dual challenges at the intersection of AI and cyber security: protecting AI deployments from prompt injections, hallucinations, dangerous function calling, and on the other side leveraging AI to enhance our enterprise security measures. And even securing AI with AI for security. We'll explore the latest advancements in AI-driven security technologies, discuss real-world case studies, and outline best practices for integrating AI into your cyber security strategy holistically. Attendees will gain insights into the current threat landscape, understand the role of AI in mitigating risks, and learn actionable steps to secure their own AI systems effectively. New threat vectors are emerging quickly, let’s stay one step ahead.
Pitch Competition Judge
Bhavana Tirukovalluri
Senior Director, Technical Services | Stanford University IT
Bhavana is the Senior Director of Technical Services at Stanford University IT. In this role, she oversees database and application administration for the University's enterprise-level systems and supports cloud-based application operations. Her primary focus is on transitioning infrastructure to the cloud as part of the Renew-Extend-Replace initiative, while also developing a strategic vision for a manageable, scalable, and cost-effective infrastructure for the university.
Since joining Stanford in 2009, Bhavana has made significant contributions to various projects, most notably in her instrumental role in the ADAPT program, where she led technical application design and development. Since 2022, she has spearheaded multiple cloud migration initiatives and currently oversees the infrastructure for the AI Playground and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure within the Pinnacle Program.
Bhavana's expertise and leadership play a pivotal role in advancing Stanford's technological landscape and driving its cloud adoption strategies.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 2:30 - 3:00 P.M.
Title: Safeguarding Discovery: Security and Data Privacy in the Stanford AI Playground
James Green
General Partner | CRV
As a general partner at CRV, James is known for investing in security, infrastructure, and financial services-focused startups. He led CRV’s investments in Astrix, Finley, and Legit Security. In 2023, James and CRV led the charge on a $25 million Series A investment in Astrix, which provides a next-generation platform for managing non-human identity. That same year, he also helped CRV lead a $17 million Series A in Finley, which is reimagining the debt capital raise and management process, while also leading the $40 million Series B for Legit Security.
Prior to CRV, James spent just over five years, most recently as a vice president, at Insight Partners. During his time at Insight, he deployed nearly $1 billion globally in companies such as Pipedrive (acquired for $1.5 billion), Sysdig, Corelight, FloQast, and many others. During his career, he also held operating roles at Built Technologies and Carwow. James received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 3:00 - 4 P.M.
Pitch Competition Judge
Jeremy Tavan
Enterprise Cybersecurity Architect | Stanford University
Jeremy is the Enterprise Cybersecurity Architect at Stanford University, where he has been a pivotal member of the Information Security Office for almost a decade. With a background in Computer Science and an interest in AI predating the rise of large language models, Jeremy is known for his hands-on, opinionated approach to broad technical challenges. Beyond his professional life, he enjoys teaching historical swordplay, blending precision and discipline from both his technical work and martial arts passion.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 3:00 - 4 P.M.
Pitch Competition Judge
David Spark
Host, Founder, and Executive Producer | CISO Series
David Spark (@dspark) is the founder and executive producer of the CISO Series, a media network for cybersecurity professionals. He also co-hosts many of the CISO Series shows. Spark is a veteran tech journalist who’s appeared in many media outlets such as eWEEK, Wired News, Forbes, PCWorld, Clearchannel, and TechTV (formerly ZDTV). Outside of tech and security, Spark squandered over a dozen years working as a touring stand-up comedian, a San Francisco tour guide, and a comedy writer for The Second City in Chicago.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 1:30 - 2:30 P.M.
Live Recording of CISO Series Podcast
Michael Tran Duff
Chief Information Security and Data Privacy Officer | Harvard University IT
Michael completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science and physics at MIT. While there, he founded an electronic medical records company and later served as Chief Technology Officer of the acquiring organization. Michael then devoted a year to teaching undergraduate and graduate computer science courses as a Visiting Instructor at Miami University in Ohio before relocating to Silicon Valley, where he led the information security program at SRI International in Menlo Park for the next 11 years. Michael joined Stanford University in 2012 and ascended to the Assistant Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer role in 2013, adding the Chief Privacy Officer role in 2018. After 10 years at Stanford, Michael was appointed as Harvard University's Chief Information Security and Data Privacy Officer in 2022, where he leads digital accessibility in addition to the university's pioneering PrivSec program. Today, Michael serves on several advisory boards, providing cybersecurity and privacy expertise.
When: Thursday, October 17 | Time: 1:30 - 2:30 P.M.
Live Recording of CISO Series Podcast
