Agenda:

2:30 - 3:00, Check in and Networking

3:00 – 3:15,  Intro & Opening Remarks - including highlighting our Sponsor

3:15 – 4:00,  Keynote Speaker 1:  Matt Kwiatkowski, CISO at Fermi Lab

4:00  - 4:45,  Keynote Speaker 2: Brian Bernsee, Senior Vice President | Emerging Technology, Quantum and Advanced Research

4:45 – 5:00,  Closing Comments

5:00 - 6:00,  Networking & Social Hour

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Welcome back to ISSA Chicago Chapter. This meeting is the 1st Thursday of the month at Carlucci Restaurant.

Please join us on Thursday, Nov 5 at Carlucci Restaurant in Rosemont, IL.  ISSA Chapter Meeting is 3 - 5pm with networking time at 5 - 6pm.  Check our website and Tickettailor for updates.

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ISSA-Chicago November 2026 Chapter Meeting:

Thursday, Nov 5 for Chapter Meeting at 3 - 5 PM plus Networking Social Hour at 5 - 6 PM

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Keynote Speaker #1: Matt Kwiatkowski, CISO of Fermi Lab

Title of Talk: Securing the Invisible: Modern Cyber Defense for Operational Technology

Description of Talk: Cybersecurity in Operational Technology (OT) focuses on safeguarding the industrial control systems that keep critical laboratory and infrastructure operations safe, reliable, and continuously available. OT environments—spanning PLCs, SCADA and DCS systems, building automation, scientific instrumentation, and safety and security systems—face unique challenges because many components are legacy, difficult to patch, and were never designed for modern cyber threats. As IT and OT increasingly converge, adversaries are exploiting third party access, aging protocols, and newly exposed devices, prompting a shift from reactive fixes to proactive, risk informed processes. DOE Office of Science and DOE National Nuclear Security Administration have responded by establishing the Center of Excellence for OT to align national laboratories around shared guidance, Zero Trust adapted architectures, workforce development, and procurement strategies that enable secure, sustainable modernization. This talk will highlight how these efforts collectively strengthen OT resilience, improve visibility, and advance a unified cybersecurity posture across mission critical environments.

Bio: Matt Kwiatkowski is the Chief Information Security Officer at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois, where he has served since February 2023. In this role, Kwiatkowski leads the laboratory’s enterprise cybersecurity strategy, guiding efforts that safeguard mission critical scientific research, high performance computing environments, and complex operational technology systems.

At Fermilab, he oversees a broad cybersecurity portfolio, including enterprise security configuration and risk management, cyber forensics, cybersecurity awareness and training, and laboratory wide policy development. He also directs incident response, malware prevention and detection programs, and the secure implementation of cloud technologies. His leadership emphasizes resilience, operational alignment, and integrating modern security principles into both IT and OT environments.

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Keynote Speaker #2: Brian Bernsee, Senior Vice President | Emerging Technology, Quantum and Advanced Reasearch

Title of Talk: Preparing for the Quantum Future: Protecting Digital Trust with Post-Quantum Cryptography

Description of Talk: Quantum computing has the potential to solve complex problems that traditional computers cannot, but it also creates new risks for cybersecurity. Current encryption methods that protect sensitive data, digital identities, certificates, and online communications could eventually become vulnerable to powerful quantum computers. This presentation explains how quantum computing differs from classical computing, why the timeline for this threat—often called “Q-Day”—is uncertain, and why organizations should begin preparing before quantum computers are capable of breaking today’s encryption. It also introduces post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as a way to maintain digital trust in the future. Rather than replacing everything at once, organizations can gradually transition by identifying their most critical systems, working with vendors, building an inventory of cryptographic assets, and supporting both traditional and post-quantum methods during the transition. The main takeaway is that organizations do not need to predict exactly when quantum threats will arrive; they need to start preparing now so their systems and sensitive information remain protected

Bio.: Brian Bernsee is the lead for Quantum Emerging Technology at Northern Trust, where he drives the enterprise effort to transition the firm to a quantum resistant architecture. He works at the front edge of emerging technology, focusing on quantum and post-quantum, AI, and blockchain. Brian's career is grounded in technology and cybersecurity. He translates complex, fast-moving technology into clear strategy and action. On post-quantum, he delivers clarity on what is actually needed: why it matters now, what is already exposed, and how to act before cryptographically relevant quantum computers arrive.

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