Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2026 Lakeland, Florida

Florida AI & Security Symposium

A half-day gathering for the IT and security leaders shaping Florida's next decade — where the AI-era threat landscape gets real, and the people defending against it compare notes.

Date
Fri, Oct 9, 202610:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET
Venue
Catapult LakelandThe Assembly · Downtown
Admission
FreeStudents & IT leaders
Format
In personTalks · demos · lunch
Why we're gathering

AI changed the threat model. This is where Florida's defenders catch up — together.

Attackers now generate flawless phishing lures, automate ransomware, and use everyday system tools and AI scripts to slip past signature-based defenses. The Florida AI & Security Symposium brings CIOs, CISOs, and their teams into one room for a focused morning of practical intelligence — no fluff, no hard sell, just the conversations that matter for Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

🤖

AI-powered threats

How AI-generated phishing and automated ransomware actually work — and what holds up against them.

🎭

Social engineering

Credential theft and social engineering are being used to strip technical controls. See the playbook.

🛡️

Beyond signature defense

Why AV and signature-based tools give minimal defense now — and where to invest instead.

⚙️

Governing AI

Emerging policy and governance for enabling AI innovation while managing real security risk.

🎯

Autonomous pentesting

A live look at how autonomous penetration testing differs from traditional vulnerability assessments.

🤝

Peer roundtables

Real relationships with the people defending Florida's banks, hospitals, campuses, and governments.

The morning

A four-hour agenda built for people with real jobs to get back to

Tight sessions, live demos, and lunch with your peers. Full speaker lineup announced soon.

10:00 AM

Check-in, coffee & networking

Badges, coffee, and a chance to meet the room before we start.

10:30 AM

Welcome & opening keynote — The AI-era threat landscape

A grounded look at what actually changed for defenders in the last 18 months.

Keynote
11:00 AM

Panel — AI-powered attacks, from lures to ransomware

Practitioners break down AI-generated phishing and automated ransomware, and what's stopping them.

Panel
11:45 AM

Talk — When AV isn't enough: credential theft & social engineering

How attackers use trusted tools and human trust to remove your technical controls.

Session
12:15 PM

Lunch & networking

Provided on-site. The best hallway conversations happen here.

1:00 PM

Live demo — Autonomous penetration testing

See how autonomous pentesting differs from a traditional vulnerability assessment, on a real target.

Demo
1:30 PM

Roundtable — Governing AI without slowing it down

Policy, governance, and lessons learned from building and orchestrating AI agents in production.

Roundtable
1:55 PM

Closing & takeaways

The three things to do Monday morning — and where we go from here.

Draft agenda — subject to refinement as speakers are confirmed.

Who should attend

Built for the people accountable for security — and the students who'll inherit it

Admission
Free tickets

for students and IT leaders across Florida.

  • Full-time and part-time students (with valid .edu or student ID)
  • IT & security leaders — CIO, CISO, Director, and VP roles
  • Lunch, coffee, and materials included
Claim your free seat →

You'll fit right in if you're a…

CIOCISOVP of IT Director of IT / SecurityNetwork & Security Engineer IT ManagerGRC / Compliance Deputy / Public Sector ITStudent in CS / Cyber / IT

Drawn from Florida's banks, hospitals, universities, logistics, manufacturing, and county & city government — including the leaders behind Polk County's IT ThinkTank and beyond.

Reserve your seat

Register free

Students and IT leaders attend at no cost. Grab your ticket below — it takes about 30 seconds.

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Presented by

Made possible by Florida's security community

Three teams who spend their days keeping Florida organizations safe — together underwriting a day of open, no-cost learning.

Interested in sponsoring or speaking? Get in touch →

Where

Catapult Lakeland — The Assembly

Catapult Lakeland

502 E. Main St, Lakeland, FL 33801

Held in The Assembly, Catapult's largest gathering space in the heart of downtown Lakeland — an innovation hub built for founders, technologists, and the community that supports them. Free and paid parking is available nearby throughout downtown.

Open in Google Maps →
📍
Downtown Lakeland
502 E. Main St · 33801

Seats are limited. The room is not.

The Florida AI & Security Symposium is intentionally intimate — reserve your free seat before it fills.

Register on Luma →