Speakers

Robert is a recognised authority in the industrial cybersecurity community. He is CEO and co-founder of Dragos, a global technology leader in cybersecurity for industrial controls systems (ICS)/operational technology (OT) environments.

In addition, Robert serves on the Department of Energy's Electricity Advisory Committee as the Vice Chair of the Department of Energy's Grid Resilience for National Security Subcommittee, and is a member of the World Economic Forum's subcommittees on Cyber Resilience for the Oil & Gas and Electricity communities.

Robert is routinely sought after for advice and input on cybersecurity for industrial infrastructure and is regularly asked to brief national leaders. He testified to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce-Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, to advise on policy issues related to critical infrastructure cyber threats. He is a member on the Reserve Forces Policy Board, Office of the Secretary of Defence; and also serves on the board of the National Cryptologic Foundation. He has also presented at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, and industry leading conferences such as RSA, SANS, BlackHat, and DefCon on the topic of industrial cybersecurity and threats.

Robert began his pioneering work in ICS/OT cybersecurity as a U.S. Air Force Cyber Warfare Operations Officer tasked to the National Security Agency, where he built a first-of-its-kind mission identifying and analysing national threats to industrial infrastructure. He went on to build the industrial community's first dedicated monitoring and incident response class at the SANS Institute (ICS515) and the industry recognised cyber threat intelligence course (FOR578).

SC Media named Robert the Security Executive of the Year for 2022. A business leader but also technical practitioner, he helped lead the investigation into the 2015 attack on Ukraine's power grid, the first time an electric system was taken down due to a cyberattack. With his team at Dragos he has been involved in the most significant cyberattacks on industrial infrastructure, including the investigation and analysis of the 2016 attack on Ukraine’s electric system, the 2017 TRISIS attack on a Saudi Arabian petrochemical facility in the first attempt to try to kill people through malicious software, and the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. In 2022, his team at Dragos uncovered PIPEDREAM, a highly flexible framework to attack industrial infrastructure globally. Robert’s work has been featured in the book Sandworm and on 60 Minutes.

Marco (Marc) Ayala has 30 years of experience where he designed, implemented, and maintained process instrumentation, automation systems, safety systems, and process control networks. With expertise in strategic planning, team leadership, and stakeholder collaboration, Marco drives innovation and develops advanced strategies to secure vital systems, ensuring resilience and alignment with national security objectives.

With over two decades focused specifically on industrial cybersecurity, he has led efforts to secure the oil and gas (all streams), maritime port, offshore facilities, and chemical sectors, supporting federal, local, and state entities for securing the private sector.

Marco is highly active in International Society of Automation and is a longtime member. He is a 22-year Senior Member and a certified cyber instructor for ISA (62443) with volunteering commitments and contributor to the AMSC Gulf of Mexico/America (GOM/GOA) cybersecurity committee in a sworn in role to the USCG as Chair of Threat Intelligence and Cybersecurity for the outer continental shelf (OCS).

InfraGard member since 2014 and currently serving as the President for the Houston Members Alliance.

For over 20 years, Dale Peterson has been on the leading edge helping security conscious asset owners effectively and efficiently manage risk to their critical assets.

He has pioneered numerous ICS security tools and techniques. In 2007, he created S4 Events to showcase the best offensive and defensive work in ICS security and build a community. S4 is now the largest and most advanced ICS event in the world.