Gina Yacone

Gina is the Advisory CISO for TRACE3's Mountain State region, based in Denver, Colorado. Gina aids senior security leaders by offering insight into the latest industry trends, assessing vulnerabilities, architecting robust security frameworks, and implementing advanced security solutions tailored to protect precious digital assets. Previously, Gina was responsible for protecting numerous organizations as a vCISO and senior cybersecurity consultant. Her experience spans a multitude of sectors: healthcare, biotech, pharmaceuticals, hedge funds, alternative investments, insurance, education, manufacturing, technology, local government, and more.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gina served as the vCISO for three hospitals, ensuring their cybersecurity infrastructure remained unbreachable amidst the global crisis. Additionally, Gina helped a startup that built a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and threat intelligence platform - a venture later acquired by Sophos. Gina was entrusted with comprehensive security strategy oversight in her vCISO role, spanning areas like governance, risk, compliance, risk assessments, audits, incident response, threat intelligence, and the secure software development life cycle (SDLC).
Beyond her professional achievements, Gina supports continuous learning and community engagement. She's earned her master’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of New Hampshire's School of Engineering and possesses seven revered security certifications, including accolades from ISACA, HITRUST, (ISC)², and CompTIA. A sought-after voice, she's delivered insights at over 50 conferences and holds memberships in esteemed organizations such as ISSA, ISACA, and WiCyS.
With a mission that transcends her professional roles, Gina's commitment to fortifying organizations against cyber threats and nurturing the next generation of information security professionals remains unwavering

SPEAKING TOPIC: The CISO's Playbook: Crafting a Cybersecurity Strategy for AI

The journey of artificial intelligence has unfolded over several decades, yet the latest developments in generative AI have been remarkably transformative, resulting in groundbreaking progress that has deeply influenced our end-users this year. As such, for those in mid-to-senior security leadership roles, understanding the unique AI challenges in cybersecurity is critical for protecting an organization's assets and data.
This talk will help empower security leaders with the necessary knowledge to develop a strategic approach to AI cybersecurity. By recognizing AI's unique challenges, implementing proactive security measures, and promoting continuous improvement, organizations can bolster their systems' robustness and resilience against cyber threats.
As AI systems increasingly integrate into daily operations, security leaders must comprehend the challenges and proactively implement strategies that respond to and anticipate cyber threats. This approach will protect the organization's assets and data while building trust with stakeholders and end-users who depend on the systems' robustness and resilience.