Chicago Cybersecurity Conference
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Hybrid
1401 West 22nd Street, Oak Brook, Illinois, USA, 60523
Join Us in Chicago for the Futurecon Cybersecurity Event!
Hear from our esteemed speakers while gaining up to 10 CPE credits. Immerse yourself in the latest cybersecurity developments to gain valuable insights in today’s dynamic threat landscape. Learn how to effectively manage risk, demo the newest technologies from an array of different sponsors, and network with your local community.
Don’t miss our special ceremony recognizing our honorary attendees receiving an Award of Excellence!
Join us live for breakfast, lunch, and a wrap up cocktail happy hour!
Keynote Speaker
“From Case Files to Firewalls and Encryption: What a Former Social Worker Knows About Security and Privacy”
Karen Habercoss
Vice President, Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer | Board Member | Expert Witness UChicago Medicine
As the Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer, I oversee the security and privacy office of a leading academic, research, and clinical health system. Having more than 15 years of progressive experience in the field, I am responsible for developing, implementing, and leading privacy and cyber security strategies, managing and mitigating risks, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and best practices.
I lead a diverse and collaborative team of privacy and information security professionals, working across all business units and affiliates to assess and manage risk, protect patients, ensure resilience, and secure data and assets. I also leverage my human behavior and relations training to build strong partnerships and foster a culture of privacy and security awareness.
I have an MBA and MSW, and I maintain an Illinois licensure in Clinical Social Work. Additionally, I am a member of the: AAMC Compliance Officer Steering Committee (Chair Elect); HIMSS Cybersecurity, Privacy & Security Committee (Chair); Gartner C-Level Chicago CISO Governing Body; and HSCC Cybersecurity Working Group Privacy-Security Task Group (Co-Lead).
I regularly speak on topics related to the impact of privacy-security strategic partnerships and effective risk management.
I serve as an expert witness specific to healthcare privacy cases.
CISO/Industry Leader Panel
"Securing the Future: CISO Insights and Industry Leaders Discussing Current Cyber Threats and Strategic Defense Practices"
Bradley Schaufenbuel
Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer Paychex
Oscar J. Giraldo
Assistant Vice President of Data Security Waterton
Jennifer Raiford
CEO & Chief Information Security Officer | Globe-Sec Advisory CISO and Chief Digital Risk and Trust officer | ENIGMA Protocol
Terry Kurzynski
Founder HALOCK Security Labs
Kay Solomon-Okoli
Assistant Vice President (AVP) - IT Controls & Quality- Governance CNA Insurance
Sponsors
Premier Platinum Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Partner
“Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT problem”
FutureCon Events brings high-level Cyber Security Training to C-suite executives and CISOs (chief information security officers).
Join us for a day with multiple illuminating presentations and a panel discussion featuring C-level executives who have effectively mitigated the risk of Cyber Attacks, demo the newest technology, and discover the cutting-edge security approaches to prepare you for the future of the Cyber World.
You will gain the latest knowledge you need to enable applications while keeping your computing environment secure from even the most advanced Cyber Threats. Interact with the world’s security leaders and your peers to gather details on other pressing topics of interest to the information security community.
Have questions? Check out the FAQ.
Agenda
Times are subject to change
Opening Introductions | Check In | Networking
Current Security Operations
Modern Data Protection
Presentation
Why AI Can’t Fix Your Cyber Risk (and Might Be Making It Worse)
Since the release of ChatGPT 3.5 in 2022, AI (artificial intelligence) has become the default answer to almost every cybersecurity problem—including risk assessments. AI and large language models (LLM) can generate polished, confident-looking risk analyses in seconds. The problem? Confidence is not competence, and speed is not accountability. When used as a substitute for human judgment, AI-driven risk assessments can obscure real exposure, misrepresent priorities, and create a dangerous illusion of control.
In this session, Chris Cronin will demonstrate why AI is fundamentally incapable of managing cybersecurity risk on its own—and how overreliance on AI can actually increase organizational risk. Attendees will see where AI outputs break down, why “AI-generated” does not mean “defensible,” and how regulators, auditors, and courts still expect human decision-making grounded in reasonableness.
Chris Cronin, creator of the Duty of Care Risk Analysis (DoCRA) Standard, has advised governments, courts, Fortune 100 companies, and startups on cybersecurity risk analysis and regulatory compliance. His work centers on helping organizations make risk decisions that can be explained, justified, and defended—not just automated.
Chris will reveal the simple rule Reasonable Risk uses to decide when AI belongs in their SaaS platform—and when it absolutely does not. Attendees will leave with a clear framework for using AI as a supporting tool rather than a decision-maker, and a practical understanding of how DoCRA principles are shaping AI, cybersecurity, and privacy laws around the world.
Sponsored by
Sponsor Networking Time
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The Human Element of Cyber Security
Cyber Security Fundamentals
Sponsor Networking Time
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Lunch
Keynote
From Case Files to Firewalls and Encryption: What a Former Social Worker Knows About Security and Privacy
Karen Habercoss
Vice President, Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer | Board Member | Expert Witness UChicago Medicine
Sponsor Networking Time
Visit Sponsor Booths – find amazing people, information, and prizes! Get updated on the latest technologies!
Presentation
Automated Status Quo: The signal to noise crisis and how AI can change nothing and everything about detection.
Cyber teams are drowning in a sea of alerts and false positives. AI promises to resolve this, but it also enables attackers to generate massive amounts of unique noise to hide their true intentions. The real battle isn’t about creating more detections, it’s about refining detection logic and creating better detections. The art of maintaining signal fidelity in an environment underwater from AI amplified noise. Learn about the truth of using AI as a solution and exploring AI as a vector for a new class of attacks that exploit our reliance on automated decision making and new threat intelligence examples of AI success and failures.
Sponsored by
Zero Trust Security Framework
Sponsor Networking Time
Visit Sponsor Booths – find amazing people, information, and prizes! Get updated on the latest technologies!
Cyber Security Predictions
The Future of Cyber Security
Sponsor Networking Time
Visit Sponsor Booths – find amazing people, information, and prizes! Get updated on the latest technologies!