Workshops

Pre-Summit Workshop Day: November 4, 2025

Please note that a pre-Summit workshop day ticket must be purchased separately, or as part of a bundle. The workshop day ticket includes both workshops, breakfast, lunch and snacks on November 4.

Morning workshop: 9:30am - 12:30pm

Prescriptive based response is kryptonite to adversaries

This immersive, hands-on lab experience will focus on developing key skills for investigating and responding to cyber incidents. Participants will learn practical techniques for identifying, analyzing, and responding to sophisticated advanced persistent threats (APTs) using Extended Detection & Response (XDR). The strategies and skills gained will be broadly applicable across a range of tools and environments. Learn how to empower your teams to go from endless investigation to remediating the highest priority incidents with greater speed, efficiency, and confidence.

Speaker
Jason Maynard, Field CTO, Cybersecurity Canada, CISCO Systems Canada

Jason is a seasoned expert in security technologies, with nearly two decades of experience in architecting, designing, and deploying solutions for some of the most complex secured environments in Canada and abroad. His deep understanding of both operational and informational technologies, coupled with his ability to integrate people and processes, allows him to deliver comprehensive security solutions tailored to organizational goals and strategic imperatives. As Field CTO focused on Cybersecurity at Cisco, Jason leverages his extensive experience across various industry verticals to address diverse risk profiles. His career journey includes roles as an end-user security practitioner, partner/integrator, and now a manufacturer, demonstrating his versatile expertise.

Afternoon workshop: 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Beyond benefits: Building resilient tech teams through psychological safety (without breaking the budget)

Tech organizations face a talent retention crisis—with Canadian cybersecurity professionals experiencing some of the highest burnout rates in the workforce. While recruitment gets attention, retention often fails due to workplace cultures that prioritize productivity over psychological safety.

This interactive workshop demonstrates how to build resilient, high-performing tech teams through practical psychological safety strategies that cost nothing but deliver measurable ROI. Participants will learn why traditional "wellness perks" fail and discover proven alternatives that address root causes of burnout and turnover.

Drawing from work with 45+ organizations, including government and tech sectors, we'll explore made-in-Canada approaches to workforce development that recognize the unique pressures of cybersecurity work—constant vigilance, high-stakes decisions, and evolving threat landscapes.

Attendees will leave with:

A diagnostic tool to identify workplace stress patterns specific to tech teams
Three immediate interventions that reduce burnout without budget increases
A framework for building psychological safety that enhances security awareness rather than competing with it
Templates for measuring impact on retention and performance

Perfect for leaders seeking grassroots, budget-conscious solutions to the talent challenge—because keeping great people is cheaper than constantly replacing them.

Speaker
Brandy Zimmerman, Workplace Mental Health Strategist, Thriving Workplaces

Brandy Zimmerman helps overwhelmed professionals discover that mental health and high performance can actually be great teammates instead of bitter rivals. With her background as Alberta's former Associate Minister of Health and lived experience with ADHD and burnout, she's worked with 45+ organizations to turn workplace wellness theory into practical actions that actually stick when the inbox is exploding.

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