The Rise of AI: CornCon Cybersecurity Conference and Kids' Hacker/STEM Camp at the Davenport RiverCenter -- October 6 and 7.
Friday, October 6, and Saturday, October 7
Davenport RiverCenter, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA
Founded in 2015 by the Quad Cities Cybersecurity Alliance and presented by the Docent Institute, the ninth-annual CornCon – an event designed to raise community awareness and provide business solutions for dealing with cybersecurity threats – will boast breakout sessions, expert speakers, panels, tutorials, vendors, a tech expo, children's activities, awards presentations, and more on October 6 and 7, this year's Davenport RiverCenter event titled The Rise of AI.
The Docent Institute is 501(c)(3) registered charitable non-profit educational institution based in Iowa, and is designed to provide technology outreach, inclusion, and STEM education for the betterment of society. Docent organizes STEM camps for K-12 students, cybersecurity challenges for college students, and the Midwest's premiere annual cybersecurity conference, CornCon. Docent provides college scholarships, mentoring, and performs other public outreach related to cybersecurity, technology, and the ethical use of technology, its founder Dr. John D. Johnson having taught and developed numerous cybersecurity graduate courses for St. Ambrose University, Excelsior College, and Eastern Iowa Community Colleges from 2003 to 2019.
At this year's CornCorn, more than 50 world-class experts will share their knowledge on a wide range of cybersecurity topics, and as they follow one of three daily tracks, attendees can explore the latest innovations at the vendor expo, engage in hands-on experiences in the hacker villages, and build lasting connections at after-hours networking events. Among those tentatively scheduled to speak at the 2023 CornCon are: M. David Etue, CEO, Nisos Inc., on “AI Powered Cyber Risks”; Rebecca Herold, CEO of the Privacy Professor, on “It’s Not Always a Rattlesnake Just Because It Rattles: Everything I Learned About Risk Management I Learned on the Farm”; Bruce Norquist, Product Security Architecture at Visa, on “Lean Security Architecture Approach”; Christian Sorensen, Founder/CEO of SightGain, on "From Threats to Risk: How the Anatomy of Cyber Response Reveals Risk"; Mike Daugherty, CEO at LabMD, on “FBI & FTC, Oh My!”; Ira Winkler, Field CISO and VP of CYE, on “Your Budget Is a Horse's Ass”; and global corporate information security and AI strategist Erika Steele on "The Rise of AI: The front Door Is Locked, But the Backdoor Is Wide Open."
In addition to two days of workshops, lectures, and breakout sessions for adults, The Rise of AI will host CornCon's annual “Children of the CornCon” on October 7 – a kids' hacker camp and STEM festival for grades kindergarten through 12. With activities running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., students can work with electronic kits, soldering, computer builds; play games of Build a Computer, Lockpicking, Capture the Flag, and Electronic Graveyard; enjoy computer-themed puzzles; and take part in the Hacker Jeopardy 4 Kidz competition, with pizza, snacks, and beverages provided. All ages, meanwhile, are invited to “the Bill Murray After Party” from 7 to 10 p.m. that evening, an event at Davenport's neighboring Analog Arcade Bar (302 North Brady Street) which features free tokens, pizza, and (for the adults) an open bar.
This year's CornCon will be preceded on Thursday, October 5 with an invitation-only CISO Summit held at Davenport's EICC Urban Campus (101 West Third Street), with group activities throughout the day and the scheduled presentations including “Don't Ever Forget What We Do Here” by Rob Labbe of Mining & Metals – ISAC; “Incident Response Care and Feeding of Lawyers” by ZwillGen PLLC legal director Paul Rice; “What Are We Doing Here: Rethinking Security” by Online Business Systems' Jeff Man; and “Dollars and Cents, Not Bits and Bytes: The New SEC Reporting Rule and End of Cybersecurity as We Know It” by Accel Consulting's Douglas Brush.
For more information on all events in the October 6 and 7 CornCorn Cybersecurity Conference and Kids' Hacker/STEP Camp, visit CornCon.net.
