Join us for an action packed day of presentations on February 21, 2018 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm at Cisco, building 5 (Blue Ridge Conference Center located on the lower level), 7025 Kit Creek Road, Morrisville, NC 27560.

1st presentation – Agricultural Scientists from China Charged with Stealing Trade Secrets:
Two agricultural scientists from China were charged with trying to steal samples of a variety of seeds from a biopharmaceutical company’s research facility in Kansas.  Weiqiang Zhang, 47, Manhattan, Kansas, and Wengui Yan, 63, Stuttgart, Arkansas, were charged with one count of conspiracy to steal trade secrets. The victim in the case—identified in court records as Company A—invested approximately $75 million in patented technology used to create a variety of seeds containing recombinant proteins. The company has an extensive intellectual property portfolio of more than 100 issued and pending patents and exclusive licenses to issued patents.

On August 7, 2013, agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection found stolen seeds in the luggage of a group of visitors from China preparing to board a plane to return home. While in the United States, the group had visited various agricultural facilities and universities in the Midwest, as well as the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center in Stuggart, Arkansas.

According to the criminal complaint:
•       Zhang and Yan, both natives of the People’s Republic of China living lawfully in the United States, arranged for the Chinese delegation to visit the United States in 2013. Previously, the two had traveled to China at the same time in 2012 to visit a Crops Research Institute. Some of the people they met in China were members of the Chinese delegation that visited the United States in 2013.
•       Zhang, worked as an agricultural seed breeder for Company A since 2008.
•       Stolen seeds were delivered to members of the Chinese delegation during the delegation’s visit to the United States July 16 through August 7, 2013.
•       Yan, who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a rice geneticist at the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center, picked up the Chinese delegation from a motel in Stuggart, Arkansas, on July 22, 2013, and took them to the center.

Seeds similar to what were found in the delegation’s possession as they left the United States in August 2013, were also found in Zhang’s residence on December 11, 2013.  The focus of this presentation will be on insider threats, how YAN and ZHANG used their access and influence to gain favor with the Chinese government at the expense of their employer. SA Kim will also discuss the relevant statutes of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets and the elements the government needs to satisfy to prosecute these cases.

Biography:  Sean Kim has been an FBI Special Agent since 2007 and has served in the Los Angeles, Little Rock and Milwaukee Field Offices.  In 2015, Sean was promoted to the Cyber Counterintelligence Coordination Section, Chantilly, VA where he was imbedded with Eurasian Cyber Operations Unit.

2nd presentation –  How to present Cyber risk to non-IT decision makers:

No matter how important any topic is, if it’s not funded, you have a problem. To be successful, you must be able to position for funding. The purpose of this presentation is to provide guidance and examples regarding how to present Cyber risk to non-IT decision makers, particularly those who control IT budgets, in a way that is interesting, perhaps entertaining, and understandable. It will help the participant better understand how to present cyber risk in business terms so that when it is time for their organization to determine budgeting for everything from employee raises, manufacturing equipment upgrades, or IT, that this important investment category can be expressed in business terms that can successfully compete for funding.

This presentation has been provided to various audiences ranging from a Swiss Bank’s architecture and cyber security teams, the NC State Board of Elections, Red Dart, and as a breakout session at two Triangle InfoSecon sessions.
Agenda:
•       Cyber Risk Overview
•       Business Relevance: Cyber Risk and Enterprise Architecture
•       Cyber risk traced to Business Impact
•       Business Risk is Quantifiable
•       Cyber Risk Assessment Philosophy
•       Business Risk Vulnerability
•       Portfolio Management
•       How its Done (Phases I-IV)

Biography:  Stephen Volandt is currently managing the modernization and transformation of the North Carolina Election and Campaign Finance Systems as a contracted program manager. He specializes in successfully connecting strategic purpose, risk management, decision-making, enterprise project portfolio management, operational user requirements, and the technology that supports them. He has been instrumental in the establishment of governance structures for global and nationwide organizations. Mr. Volandt co-authored the DoD CIO Executive board governance charter and participated in establishing enterprise-wide portfolio rationalization, harmonization, and transformation governance for the DoD technology portfolio. Mr. Volandt served as the lead architect for transforming the multi-billion-dollar United States Marine Corps business enterprise to better support combat operations and readiness cycles. He provided policy, operations modeling, IT and communications modeling, planning, and budget justification for a global U.S. Army weapon of mass destruction response capability; and was a principal operations planner and architect for joint U.S. Army and National Guard response to smuggled nuclear weapon ground burst terrorism in the homeland. Mr. Volandt has also supported the Joint Requirements and Integration Office (JR&IO), NRO, and served as the governance team leader for the FBI’s CJIS Division. Other areas of expertise include cyber business-risk assessments, technology portfolio transformation management, disaster recovery planning and operations, and military operations. Prior to transitioning to management and technology consulting, Mr. Volandt performed or managed thousands of environmental assessments and remediation projects, to include radioactive and complexly contaminated industrial and military SUPERFUND sites, and supported state government and FEMA during several hurricane recoveries. He is a former U.S. Marine Corps reserve officer who served at the infantry battalion, brigade, expeditionary force, and headquarters levels; specializing in readiness, decision support, exercise management, logistics, sustainment, and global operations in austere remote environments. He graduated from The Citadel with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics. He currently serves as the Vice President for Auroros, Inc., and volunteers as the 2nd Vice President for the Eastern North Carolina InfraGard Chapter, the Deputy Director, InfraGard SE Region EMP-SIG, and as the National InfraGard EMP-SIG Co-Chair. He is co-editor and co-author of the InfraGard book “Powering Through From Fragile Infrastructures To Community Resilience.”  His current passion is the design, funding, and creation of resilient communities.