Events

Speakers from across the industry will be present, including Government representatives from DHS CISA, USCG, US National Guard; the private sector including AWS, nCino, Pendo, RedHat, Harman, Datadog, IBM, DefenseStorm, The Security Agency, and Dell; and academia including NYU Albany, TIAA, NC State & NC-PaCE.

Get ready for two dynamic days filled with cutting-edge discussions and hands-on learning across the cybersecurity ecosystem. Our presentations, panels, and workshops will explore key topics such as Threat Modeling, Advanced Persistent Threats, Cloud Security, Incident Response Tabletop Exercises, Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA), Deepfakes and Synthetic Reality, Attack Surface Mapping using Hacker Tools, Adversarial AI, and Maritime Cybersecurity Maturity. 

This year’s conference also looks to the future. It will address cybersecurity workforce development in the age of AI and the expanding risks of Industry 5.0, where human-AI collaboration, smart automation, cyber-physical systems, and growing reliance on industrial control systems (ICS), operational technology (OT), and the Internet of Things (IoT) are transforming how we approach digital defense. These interconnected systems demand a new level of cybersecurity resilience, a key theme woven throughout this year’s sessions. 

MCARTEC strengthens cybersecurity resilience across maritime and coastal infrastructure by uniting academia, industry, and government to tackle evolving digital and operational threats. Through applied research, workforce development, and hands-on training, the center supports the protection of critical systems that underpin global trade, transportation, and the nation’s blue economy.

Participants will engage directly with maritime cybersecurity technologies, operational environments, and penetration testing exercises designed to simulate real-world cyber-risk scenarios. Guided by subject matter experts from academia and industry, students will investigate vulnerabilities, analyze attack surfaces, and develop strategies for protecting interconnected maritime systems.

The event emphasizes a systems-thinking approach to cybersecurity, encouraging participants to understand not only how technologies function, but why they are operationally critical, how failures propagate across complex systems, and how cyber-risk can be effectively managed in maritime environments.