Thousands of security professionals gathered Nov. 14-15 at the Javits Center in New York City to explore new products, solutions and technologies, network with security luminaries and obtain high-quality industry education. ISC East, sponsored by the Security Industry Association (SIA), is the Northeast’s largest security industry event; more than 7,000 security professionals attended or exhibited at this year’s conference.
Following day 1 of ISC East, SIA gathered industry luminaries and experts for SIA Honors Night, an annual event featuring a cocktail reception, a gala dinner benefiting Mission 500, engaging entertainment and an awards ceremony recognising industry leaders.
Sold-out event
SIA Honors Night 2018 was a sold-out event held at the Current at Chelsea Piers. The awards presented at SIA Honors Night 2018 were:
- SIA Progress Award (presented by SIA’s Women in Security Forum) – Eddie Reynolds, president and CEO, iluminar Inc.
- Women in Biometrics Awards (co-founded by SIA and SecureIDNews and co-presented with sponsors FindBiometrics, IDEMIA and SIA’s Women in Security Forum) – Kelly Gallagher, senior account manager at NEC Corporation of America; Lisa MacDonald, director of the Identity Management Division in the Office of Biometric identity Management at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Colleen Manaher, executive director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Lora Sims, senior biometric examiner at Ideal Innovations, Inc.; and Anne Wang, director of biometric technology research and development at Gemalto Cogent
- SIA Insightful Practitioner Award – Guy M. Grace, Jr., chair of the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools Steering Committee and director of security and emergency planning for Littleton Public Schools in the Denver suburb of Littleton, Colorado
- Jay Hauhn Excellence in Partnerships Award – Larry Folsom, co-founder and president, I-View Now
- George R. Lippert Memorial Award – Pat Comunale, retired security industry veteran, former member of the SIA Board of Directors and former CEO and president for Tri-Ed Distribution, an Anixter company
Standout keynotes
SIA Honors Night also highlighted Mission 500, a charity that advocates for children and families living in extreme poverty in the United States
Honors Night guests enjoyed keynote remarks from Bonnie St. John, a Paralympic ski medalist, Fortune 500 business consultant, Rhodes scholar, former White House official and best-selling author. St. John discussed her journey to become the first African-American ever to win medals in Winter Olympic competition despite having her right leg amputated at age five and shared her top lessons from mentors and her advice for cultivating resilience.
SIA Honors Night also highlighted Mission 500, a charity that advocates for children and families living in extreme poverty in the United States; each year, SIA Honors Night raises funds for Mission 500. SIA presented 26 engaging education sessions through the SIA Education @ ISC East program, including two standout keynotes and four hands-on workshops. Hundreds of conference attendees participated in these sessions, with impressive speakers like Valerie Thomas, ethical hacker and executive consultant at Securicon; Pierre Bourgeix, president at ESI Convergent; Scott Swann, president and CEO of IDEMIA National Security Solutions; and Jumbi Edulbehram, regional president – Americas, Oncam.
| SIA sponsored Infosecurity North America’s Keynote Stage, the central hub of the event |
Confronting emerging threats
Highlighted education sessions at this year’s conference included:
- Friend or Foe? Technology Disruption and the Physical Security Industry, a keynote address by Philip Halpin, senior vice president and head of global security at Brown Brothers Harriman, one of the country’s oldest and largest privately held financial firms
- 21st Century Best Practices: Reporting From the Front Lines on How Law Enforcement and the Security Industry Are Confronting Emerging Threats, a keynote address by James A. Gagliano, a retired FBI supervisory special agent, CNN law enforcement analyst and adjunct assistant professor at St. John’s University
Cybersecurity professionals
ISC East 2018 was co-located with two additional conferences – Infosecurity North America and Unmanned Security Expo
Additional cutting-edge topics covered in the education sessions included the move to smart cities, convergence in the security industry and the use of artificial intelligence in video analytics.
ISC East 2018 was co-located with two additional conferences – Infosecurity North America and Unmanned Security Expo. SIA sponsored Infosecurity North America’s Keynote Stage, the central hub of the event, which featured a presentation from world-famous hacker Kevin Mitnick, insights from Dave Hogue of the National Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Threat Operations Center, a discussion on the cyber skills shortage gap and ways to attract, develop and retain talented cybersecurity professionals and more.
Handle sensitive data
Additional events at ISC East 2018 included:
- A breakfast presented by ISC Security Events and SIA’s Women in Security Forum featuring a panel discussion celebrating women in security and supporting the participation and advancement of women in the industry
- Paid hands-on workshops providing cutting-edge information and valuable insights on the most current business trends, technologies and new developments in security
- Free exhibitor product training sessions sharing live, in-depth demonstrations
- A meeting with SIA’s Data Privacy Advisory Board, which provides information and best practices to help SIA members handle sensitive data in a safe and secure manner to protect the personally identifiable information of their employees, partners and customers from potential breaches