Panel: From Warning to Action - Defending Critical Infrastructure in Real Time
About This Session
As geopolitical tensions increasingly translate into cyber activity targeting operational technology, critical infrastructure defenders may have only hours or minutes to interpret a warning, identify exposed systems, and protect physical operations. Yet turning government intelligence into effective action remains difficult, particularly when advisories must reach operators across multiple sectors, jurisdictions, and levels of cybersecurity maturity.
This public-private panel will examine what happens between the moment a threat is identified and the moment meaningful protections are implemented. Government representatives, infrastructure operators, and cybersecurity experts will discuss how threat intelligence is shared, how organizations determine whether an advisory applies to their environments, and where coordination can break down during an active campaign.
The conversation will explore reporting and information-sharing challenges, incident-response responsibilities, government support for resource-constrained operators, and the difficult decisions organizations face when cybersecurity, operational continuity, and public safety converge. Panelists will also identify practical ways to improve collaboration before the next warning arrives, so critical infrastructure organizations can move faster from awareness to mitigation, response, and resilience.
This public-private panel will examine what happens between the moment a threat is identified and the moment meaningful protections are implemented. Government representatives, infrastructure operators, and cybersecurity experts will discuss how threat intelligence is shared, how organizations determine whether an advisory applies to their environments, and where coordination can break down during an active campaign.
The conversation will explore reporting and information-sharing challenges, incident-response responsibilities, government support for resource-constrained operators, and the difficult decisions organizations face when cybersecurity, operational continuity, and public safety converge. Panelists will also identify practical ways to improve collaboration before the next warning arrives, so critical infrastructure organizations can move faster from awareness to mitigation, response, and resilience.
Speakers
Brad Willet
OT Security Infrastructure Architect - UPS
Brad Willet is an OT Security Infrastructure Architect at UPS, where he focuses on securing and strengthening the operational technology environments that support one of the world’s largest and most complex logistics networks.
His work sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, industrial infrastructure, and large-scale operations, addressing challenges such as OT asset visibility, infrastructure security, IT/OT convergence, and safely identifying and managing industrial assets without disrupting critical business operations. Brad brings a practitioner’s perspective shaped by working across a global enterprise with thousands of facilities and decades of operational technology.
His work sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, industrial infrastructure, and large-scale operations, addressing challenges such as OT asset visibility, infrastructure security, IT/OT convergence, and safely identifying and managing industrial assets without disrupting critical business operations. Brad brings a practitioner’s perspective shaped by working across a global enterprise with thousands of facilities and decades of operational technology.
Michelle Farr
VP, CISO - NXP Semiconductors
Michelle Farr is Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Vice President at NXP Semiconductors, where she runs security as a warning discipline, carrying the analytic tradecraft of the intelligence world into commercial practice so judgment arrives ahead of the incident.
A Navy Mustang who earned her commission from the ranks and was among the first women to qualify as a Surface Warfare Officer while operating in an expeditionary warfare environment. She went on to serve across the Intelligence Community, including as Senior Advisor for human intelligence at ODNI. She chairs the Government Security Committee at XTAR and is completing doctoral research at Purdue on how institutions calibrate trust in algorithmic judgment. She has spent her career on the boundary where commercial enterprise meets national security obligation, and she has never worked it as a spectator.
A Navy Mustang who earned her commission from the ranks and was among the first women to qualify as a Surface Warfare Officer while operating in an expeditionary warfare environment. She went on to serve across the Intelligence Community, including as Senior Advisor for human intelligence at ODNI. She chairs the Government Security Committee at XTAR and is completing doctoral research at Purdue on how institutions calibrate trust in algorithmic judgment. She has spent her career on the boundary where commercial enterprise meets national security obligation, and she has never worked it as a spectator.
Brian "SchleiF" Schleifer
Director of Content, Events - SecurityWeek
Brian "SchleiF" Schleifer is Director of Content for SecurityWeek Events. He is a retired United States Air Force veteran, cybersecurity professional, podcast host and content leader. He previously served in senior cybersecurity engineering and leadership roles at Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. His experience includes cyber-physical and weapon systems security, security control assessment, cyber testing, risk management, and AI governance. He is pursuing a Doctor of Technology at Purdue University, where his research focuses on adaptive cybersecurity policy for AI-enabled systems. He is also the creator of the Adaptive Artificial Intelligence Risk and Assurance Framework, or AAIRAF. With more than 10,000 hours of public speaking, instruction, and panel moderation experience, Brian is known for making complex cybersecurity, technology, and risk topics practical and accessible.
Chris "Wiz" Wiwczaroski
Enterprise Architect – OT Infrastructure - Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District
Chris "Wiz" Wiwczaroski is Enterprise Architect – OT Infrastructure at the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD), bringing more than three decades of experience across industrial automation, process control, water and wastewater operations, and information technology. His expertise spans SCADA, DCS, OT cybersecurity, analytics, and industrial network infrastructure. Throughout his career, Wiz has worked at the intersection of operations and technology, helping organizations modernize critical infrastructure while maintaining the reliability, resilience, and security essential to operational environments.