BEYOND TRUST: SECURE THE AI ERA
Securing the digital world in an age powered by AI
5-6 May 2026
Ottawa Conference and Event Centre
09:00 – 09:15
Opening Remark
Kevin Ford
Exec Director, Ford and Associates
Venue: Main Hall
09:15 – 10:00
Opening Keynote
Tyson Macaulay
Deputy Director, National Center for Critical Infrastructure Protection, Resilience and Security (NC-CIPSeR)
The Digital Sovereignty Dilemma: Strategic Control of Canadian Data and AI
Abstract:
Digital Sovereignty has become defining issue in the age of the U.S. Cloud Act and the EU “e-evidence package”, which mandate service providers grant lawful access requests to any data they manage anywhere in the world. This keynote examines the regulatory and management hurdles of attaining and maintaining Digital Sovereignty within the new geopolitical realities. We will explore practical, medium-term strategies to reduce the attack surface for Canadian systems, ensuring the security of critical infrastructures and the protection of national intellectual property.
Venue: Main Hall
Featured Presentation
Mina Movahedi Shakib
Cyber Threat Investigator, Bell Canada
Who Governs the Machines? Defining Trust Boundaries for Autonomous Agents
Venue: Breakout Room
10:00 – 10:45
Title Sponsor Spotlight: Bell Cyber
Talha Iqbal
Senior Director, Cyber Intelligence Centre, Bell Cyber
AI and the Autonomous SOC: The Future of Faster, Smarter Cyber Defence
Venue: Main Hall
Arctic Wolf Workshop
Serge Dansereau
Senior Sales Engineer, Arctic Wolf
Guillaume Winters
Account Executive, Arctic Wolf
How to navigate a ransomware attack in real time – from first breach to recovery decisions
Abstract:
Step inside a high-stakes ransomware scenario as Arctic Wolf walks you through a real-world case study. You’ll see how the attack unfolded, the full scope of business impact, and the organization’s response and recovery journey.
This interactive workshop featuring live discussion prompts, scenario reveals, and guided decision points that get you thinking, debating, and applying what you know in real time.
Throughout the session, we’ll explore:
• Incident readiness decisions
• Live ransom negotiation scenarios
• Cyber insurance considerations
• Critical business trade-offs under pressure
Come ready to debate, problem solve, and strategize as a team. Walk away with practical insights and a deeper understanding of how ransomware impacts every corner of a business and what strong preparedness really looks like.
Venue: Breakout Room
10:45 – 11:15
Tea Break
11:15 – 12:00
Panel Discussion: AI vs Quantum
Moderator:
Alan McCafferty
Cyber Security Program Director, University of Ottawa, Professional Development Institute
Panel Speakers:
Ben Steeves
Co-Founder and Chief Security Officer of Beauceron Security
Bill Dunnion
Chief Information Security Officer, Mitel
Blair Canavan
Senior Director, Alliances – PQC Portfolio, Thales
Bruno Couillard
CEO and Co-founder, Crypto4A Technologies Inc.
Venue: Main Hall
CrowdStrike Masterclass
Stephen Cronier
Regional Sales Engineer, CrowdStrike
From Adversary Trends to Platform
Abstract:
Explore the latest 2026 global threat trends and see how the CrowdStrike Falcon Platform’s advanced automation and unified architecture empower security teams to detect and respond to today’s fastest-moving threat actors.
Venue: Breakout Room
12:00 – 12:45
Gold Sponsor Spotlight: Okta
Mike Berthold
Senior Solutions Architect, Team Lead, Okta
Achieving True Zero Trust with an Identity Fabric in the Agentic Era
Venue: Main Hall
TrendAI Masterclass
Yama Saadat
Principal Solutions Engineer, TrendAI
Securing the AI Blueprint: A CISO’s Practical Playbook for Safe AI Adoption
Venue: Breakout Room
12:45 – 13:45
Lunch & Learn
Steve Borza
President & CEO, Bluink
Identity Verification and Digital Credentials: Combating Fraud in Canada
Venue: Main Hall
Featured Presentation
JF Provost
CEO, Malvik Security Inc.
The Centaur Analyst: Build Cognitive Agility in a Synthetic World
Venue: Breakout Room
13:45 – 14:30
Featured Presentation
Dan Nitta Mackay
AI Ecosystem Acceleration – Public Sector / Federal Government of Canada, NVIDIA
Vanessa Courville
Senior Solutions Architect, NVIDIA
Venue: Breakout Room
Okta Workshop
Sean Keleher
Principal Solutions Engineer, Team Lead, Okta
Okta Secures AI
Venue: Breakout Room
14:15 – 15:00
Silver Sponsor Spotlight: Quantum eMotion
Jason Thomas
Director, Secure Systems Division, Quantum eMotion
Runtime Cryptographic Protection for the AI Era
Venue: Main Hall
Fortinet Masterclass
Richard Chamberland
Presales Security Expert, Fortinet
Beyond Trust: Governing AI in a World of Invisible Risk
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than the governance frameworks meant to control it, creating new, often invisible risks around data exposure, user behavior, and AI-driven decision-making.
This session reframes AI security as a governance challenge, where traditional models like Zero Trust fall short in addressing dynamic, opaque AI interactions. It introduces a modern approach built on visibility, context, and control, enabling organizations to oversee AI usage, protect sensitive data, and enforce policy in real time, without slowing innovation.
Attendees will leave with a practical, business-focused framework to:
• Safely adopt AI across the organization
• Protect critical data and intellectual property
• Strengthen governance without hindering innovation
This is not about restricting AI—it’s about using it with confidence, control, and clarity.
Venue: Breakout Room
15:00 – 15:30
Tea Break
15:30 – 16:15
Panel Discussion: Digital ID
Moderator:
Deborah Clark-Forster
Senior Account Executive, Cybersecurity Advanced Technologies Branch / Innovation and Economic Partnerships Division
Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation & Trade, Ontario Public Service
Panel Speakers:
Frederic Letourneau
Cybersecurity Public Sector and Health Lead, Accenture
Imraan Bashir
Partner, Cyber Security, National Public Sector Cyber Leader, KPMG Canada LP
Steve Borza
President, Bluink
More to be announced soon
Venue: Main Hall
Canadian Pavilion Pitch Fest
Presented by Rogers Business, Long View, and Microsoft
Moderator:
Richard Lefebvre
Senior Product Manager, Rogers Business
Judges:
Bill Dunnion
Chief Information Security Officer, Mitel
George Al-Koura
Chief Information Security Officer, Ruby Life
Birket Foster
President, Storm Internet
Justin Dunnion
Senior Associate, GreenSky Ventures
Contestants:
Cocoon CS
Everkube
GuardlyData
ibentos
JLS Consulting Services
Metropolitan Technologies
Nanogrande
Nexodata
OPSOPS
Parabellyx
TappyRewards
Reliza.io
Venue: Breakout Room
16:15 – 17:30
Biz Social Networking
(Open to all pass holders)
09:00 – 09:30
Opening Remarks
The Honourable Jenna Sudds
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement and Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State (Defence Procurement)
Venue: Main Hall
Rogers Workshop
Venue: Breakout Room
09:30 – 10:15
Pitch Fest Sponsor Spotlight: Rogers Communication
Venue: Main Hall
Click Networks Workshop
Steve Giguere
Principal AI Security Advocate, Check Point Software
From AI Risk to Resilience: Securing What Comes Next
Venue: Breakout Room
10:15 – 11:00
Featured Presentation
Dr. James Lindsay
CTO, Cyber Niner
High-Dimensional Cyber Warfare: Why Classical AI is Failing and Quantum is the Answer
Abstract:
As cyber threats evolve into increasingly complex, high-dimensional vectors, classical deep learning models face an inevitable “curse of dimensionality” that limits detection efficacy. This presentation explores the architecture and application of Quantum Neural Networks (QNNs), specifically focusing on how they provide a superior mapping for threat detection. We break down the mechanics of quantum circuits and the hybrid classical-quantum optimization loop essential for modern hardware. Furthermore, we address the critical hurdles of this quantum era. Attendees will gain a practical understanding of how QNNs serve as a transformative tool for cybersecurity and automated intrusion detection.
Venue: Main Hall
Featured Presentation
Sandeep Panesar
AI Quantum and Cybersecurity Evangelist
Venue: Breakout Room
11:00 – 11:30
Tea Break
11:30 – 12:15
Panel Discussion: Sovereign Data Infrastructure
Moderator:
Michelle Robitaille
CEO, Digital Trust Canada
Panel Speakers:
Meyer Mechanic
Founder & CEO, Vaultie
Mathieu Lemay
Partner, Digital Ubiquity Capital
More Panel Speakers to be announced
Venue: Main Hall
Featured Presentation
Shruti Mukherjee
Director of GRC
Beyond Humans: Governing Machine Identities in an AI-Driven World
Venue: Breakout Room
12:15 – 13:00
Gold Sponsor Spotlight: Thales
Robbie Gharib
Senior Solution Architect, Thales
Securing Generative AI
Venue: Main Hall
Bell Cyber Workshop
Talha Iqbal
Senior Director, Cyber Intelligence Centre, Bell Cyber
Essentials for Modern Defence: From Critical Controls to Automated 5-Minute Containment
Venue: Breakout Room
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
Venue: Main Hall
14:00 – 14:45
Featured Presentation
Jim Lambe
Vice President and General Manager –
DataBricks
Venue: Main Hall
Featured Presentation
Gary Cooper
Acting Senior Director of Cyber Security, Network and Satellite Procurement, Government of Canada
Venue: Breakout Room
15:30 – 16:00
Tea Break
14:45 – 15:30
Featured Presentation
Matt Davies
Senior Advisor, StrategyCorp
Boards and Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies
Venue: Main Hall
Featured Presentation
Numaan Huq
Senior Threat Researcher, Trend Micro Research
Battling AI Powered Scams – Research on Underground Fraud and tips for Staying Secure
Abstract:
AI has helped cybersecurity teams become more effective, but it is also helping fraudsters to make old scams faster, smarter, and more convincing than ever. Recent news stories show that this is no longer a problem just for unsuspecting victims but also affects business and government. With access to public photos and online profiles, modern cybercriminals can now link low code automation with commercial AI services to mass produce fake merchandise, synthetic influencers, persuasive scripts, and highly targeted phishing content with almost zero manual work. This session will explore the results of our most recent research illustrating how fraudsters can run a convincing and scalable scam campaign quickly and cost effectively, how fraud networks can use AI bots to manage counterfeit listings and how cybercriminals are taking social engineering to the next level with AI-generated avatars of fake influencers in AI-generated video. Discover the tools you can use to counter AI generated scams and the smart habits that we can all employ to keep up with these evolving threats
Venue: Breakout Room
16:00 – 16:45
Panel Discussion: Canadian Defence
Moderator:
Marlene Conway Diels
Board Chair, Canadian Marine Industries and Shipbuilding Association (CMISA)
Panel Speakers:
Bruce Playfair
Leader, Defence and Security Systems, Automotive and Surface Transportation National Research Council Canada / Government of Canada
Arnold Villeneuve
CMMC Lead Assessor and Instructor
Hyelim Juliana Kim
Strategic Partnerships National Lead, Mitacs
Kevin de Snayer
VP Canada, IT & Cyber Solutions, Defence and Space, Calian
Dr. James Lindsay
CTO, Cyber Niner
Venue: Main Hall
Featured Presentation
Deborah Clark-Forster
Senior Account Executive, Cybersecurity, Ontario Government
Ontario’s Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape
Venue: Breakout Room
16:45 – 17:00
Closing Remarks
John Weigelt
Microsoft Canada
Venue: Main Hall
Questions? Collaborations? Let’s talk.
Connect with our team to explore participation, speaking, or sponsorship opportunities at the summit.