In addition to the keynote presentations, the summit offered interactive discussion pods and networking opportunities with federal and state partners, industry leaders and local CISOs—all within a single-track agenda designed to maximize engagement and collaboration. Attendance was capped at 150 executives to foster meaningful dialogue and participation.

Held on the North Haven Campus on November 13, the summit was presented by the CxO Security Forum and organized by CxO Security Forum Chief Strategy Officer Michael Hiskey with the collaborative assistance of Quinnipiac Professor of Cybersecurity Frederick Scholl. 

Keynotes by industry authors, analysts and global experts created several fast-paced “TED-style” talks. After each talk, Hiskey moderated room-wide discussion and live Q&A via the CxO Security Forum online community portal.  

Among the impressive lineup of keynote speakers, the summit opened with analysis of current cybersecurity industry vendors presented by Richard Stiennon, author of the annual “Security Yearbook.” 

Among many data points, Stiennon provided a global snapshot of the industry today, tracking 4,010 active vendors – a significant drop from the over 4,550 vendors making up the IT security industry when Stiennon presented data at the summit last year.

“We can tell very quickly how things are shifting. Right now, we seem to be in the doldrums,” said Stiennon.

Only 44% of vendors have grown in size this year, versus 54% last year.  Within that growth, top sectors are in AI Security, making up 26% of growth, email security at 14%, application at 13%; and training at 10%.

Answering a question from the audience, Stiennon said his next book will focus on the short history, to date, of AI.

“I’m going back and looking at 512 vendors that started after the advent of AI in 2022 and finding dozens, because I didn’t see AI as a category back then. By the time I’m done and the book is published, there will be about 350 AI security vendors,” said Stiennon.

Additional keynote speakers included Chase Cunningham, author of “Cyber Warfare,” who discussed “#BuyTheBreach: How Cyber Failures Can Fund Your Future.” Kurtis Minder, author of “Cyber Recon: My Life in Cyber Espionage & Ransomware Negotiation,” spoke on “Espionage, Negotiation and the Battle for Digital Control.”

A panel talk, “From the Government and Here to Help: Cyber Agencies and Partnerships,” concluded the morning’s agenda.

The day’s agenda explored five themes: The CISO Evolution: the shift from technical operator to strategic enterprise leader; Industry Complexity: managing vendor sprawl, AI realities and global dynamics; Adversary Insights: understanding ransomware economies and attacker motivations; Cyber as Strategy: viewing breaches as economic events and advancing Zero Trust; and Human & Talent Factors: developing leadership, reducing bias and strengthening the cyber talent pipeline.

Several topics at the summit hit on questions being raised due to the constantly evolving state of cybersecurity management.

“One of the topics I get a lot of questions is on Cyber Insurance,” Hiskey said. “Cyber Insurance is starting to push the way we budget things; we plan things; but how does that really work? What risk are we really transferring?”

The topic was tackled by Liberty Mutual Insurance Principal Cyber Risk Engineer Amanda Draeger. Among other afternoon topics, Tim Rohrbaugh, a respected thought leader in the cybersecurity space, discussed using AI to mend issues with the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system. Additionally, an afternoon panel discussion explored “Degrees, Certificates and Grit: What Cyber Grads Can (and Can’t) Do.”

Quinnipiac Masters in Cybersecurity graduate students helped staff the NorthEast Annual Cybersecurity Summit 2025, giving them the opportunity to learn from experts and network with industry professionals. 

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