The Information Security Symposium, held May 12-13, 2026, attracted 358 attendees and featured some outstanding presentations. The event was successful overall, covering current industry events, trends, and best practices for the cybersecurity community.

Petr Brym, IET Security Manager, Information Security Office (ISO) was the volunteer organizer as well as a presenter for the event. Petr shared his appreciation for everyone who helped. “It was a genuine pleasure to see and hear all the presenters share timely and helpful thoughts about information security challenges and careers. We thank the sponsors for their financial support, and are grateful to all volunteers from UC Davis Health and UC Davis Campus."

ISS Day 1 Highlights

Dr. Andy Jones, Academic Director, Academic Technology Services (ATS), welcomed attendees on Day 1 with a promise of a poem at the closing of the event. Charron Andrus, Associate Chief Information Security Officer (ACISO) at UC Berkeley, delivered a recorded keynote focused on non-technical job seekers to consider exploring careers in cybersecurity.

Petr Brym hosted a 'Birds of a Feather' (BoF) question & answer session about AI's role in both challenging and helping security. Cesar Gamez of CalTrans provided insights for leaders in cybersecurity. UC San Diego's Regulated Research Cybersecurity Team presented a talk about the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework, a U.S. Department of Defense requirement for contractors. 

ISS Day 2 Highlights

Day 2 began with another BoF session, "AI-Assisted Systems for Reliable and Transparent Information Analysis," then a live keynote from Aisha Jackson, UC Davis Chief Information and Digital Strategy Executive (CIDSE), followed by a research-oriented security presentation from Jamie Lam, Deputy Director of Strategic Services, UC San Francisco.

An in-depth perspective on the Cyber Threat Landscape from agent Ed Cadena of the FBI-Sacramento Cyber Squad highlighted some startling cybercrime statistics. Jeff Rowe followed with a talk about using Machine Learning to facilitate investigations.

Dr. Andy closed with a poem, "After the Alerts," written just for the Symposium, and wrote, "Thanks to the organizers of the symposium for involving me and for making room for poetry, a mode of expression that I think should open or conclude every major event or gathering."