Atlanta AFCEA National Security Conference

2026 Draft Agenda

*Session titles and times are subject to change as speakers are being confirmed

	Wednesday, March 11
0800	Registration and Exhibits Open
0830 - 0900 (30)	Opening Remarks Georgia Governor’s Office (Invited) City of Atlanta Lt. Gen. Susan Lawrence (Ret.) President and CEO AFCEA International Paul Wertz, President AFCEA Atlanta, AFCEA International Homeland Security Committee and CEO SherpaWerx
0900 - 0945 (45)	US Congressman Buddy Carter "Federal Policy and the Digital Homeland: Enabling Resilience and Innovation in Critical Infrastructure and Communications"
0945 - 1030 (45)	City of Atlanta CISO Donald Graham "Fireside Chat Discussing Atlanta's Stressors to Local Critical Infrastructure"
1030-1045 (15)	Exibitors/Break
1045-1130 (45)	Department of Homeland Security CISA(Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - Stanton Gatewood Cybersecurity State Coordinator Region 4-Georgia "Offensive and Defensive Artificial Intelligence in Critical Infrastructure"
1130-1230 (60)	Exhibitors/Lunch
1230-1330 (60)	Cybersecurity for National Security in the Aerospace and Defense Sectors - Panel Discussion	Vibes Investigating - From SOC to Mission Operations: AI-Enabled Investigations at Scale	Zero Trust and Critical Infrastructure: Unique Challenges and Opportunities
1330 - 1430 (60)	Building Blocks for Cyber Security Maturity and Opportunities to help protect the USA Supply Chain - Panel Discussion	How To Create A Legal Monopoly On An Emerging technology	Quantum Universe, how close are we and why that's not good?
1430 - 1500 (30)	Exibitors/Break
1500 - 1600 (60)	Agentic AI: Operationalizing Autonomous Decision Support Across Homeland & National Security Missions - Panel Discussion	Workforce Strategies for Success, Ways to Develop Cyber Defenders And Win	Mobile Endpoints: The Overlooked Attack Surface
1600 - 1700 (60)	Border Security Technology and Strategy - Panel Discussion	AI in Cybersecurity: Defending the digital battlefield
1700 - 1800 (60)	Networking Social
1800	End of first day

	Thursday, March 12
0800	Registration and Exhibits Open
0830 - 0900 (30)	Opening Remarks
0900 - 0945 (45)	FBI Peter Ellis - Special Agent in Charge "A Unified Cyber Front: How the FBI collaborates with industry and interagency partners."
0945 - 1030 (45)	Georgia Public Service Commissioner Peter Hubbard "Energy as National Security Critical Infrastructure"
1030-1045 (15)	Exibitors/Break
1045-1130 (45)	FirstNet Authority - A Discussion on Crisis Communications - Panel Discussion
1130-1230 (60)	Exhibitors/Lunch
1230-1330 (60)	Artificial Intelligence Governing this Evolving Critical Infrastructure - Panel Discussion	Controls That Fail: Cybersecurity Lessons from History	Small Business as a Critical Component of Defense Industrial Base
1330 - 1430 (60)	National Security as a Priority in Smart Cities - Panel Discussion	Zero Trust & AI: Re-Skilling the Workforce for a Digital Homeland	Small Business Critical Innovation for National Security
1430 - 1500 (30)	Exibitors/Break
1500 - 1600 (60)	Developing Cybersecurity Professionals - Panel Discussion	When AI Becomes Infrastructure: Why Networks Are the Next National Security Risk	Small Business Connections I
1600 - 1700 (60)	Planning and Cybersecurity Exercises to Defend Critical Infrastructure - Panel Discussion	Enhancing Homeland Security in the Age of Quantum Emerging Technologies	Small Business Connections 2
1700	End of Conference

Platinum

After careful consideration, AFCEA-Atlanta (a chapter of AFCEA International) and its event production partner Federal Business Council (FBC) are postponing the 2024 Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Conference. originally scheduled for November 6-7, 2024, in Atlanta. A rapid and unanticipated rise in rhetoric and threats stemming from disinformation about the purpose of the event and its proximity to Election Day contributed to the decision to postpone.

Out of an abundance of caution and because a number of government agencies are unable to participate, we made this difficult decision so that we can deliver a high-quality and meaningful event, with deep and rich engagement across industry, government and academia, and full participation by all stakeholders. We apologize for the inconvenience and are exploring options to reschedule the event. We will reach out directly to all participants with details, including information about transferring existing exhibits, registrations and sponsorships. Updates also will be shared on the AFCEA-Atlanta chapter's event website, on FBC's website, via email and on social media.

Existing registrations will be automatically transferred to the new date. When the date is announced, attendees will have the ability to accept or decline, per our normal processes. Thank you for your patience, cooperation and understanding.

AFCEA International and its 139 global chapters remain committed to providing a forum for the ethical exchange of information and increasing knowledge through the exploration of issues relevant to its members in the defense, homeland security and intelligence communities.

FBC specializes in producing meetings, conferences, and trade show events for federal government agencies, the Department of War, and intelligence community. FBC is a Women-Owned Small Business and is known for producing onsite, in-agency industry expositions, offsite agency conferences and meetings of all kinds.