What we’re about
Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) is a not-for-profit, international professional organization of information security professionals and practitioners. It was founded in 1984 by Sandra M. Lambert and Nancy King (albeit work on its establishment started in 1982). ISSA promotes the sharing of information security management practices through educational forums, publications and networking opportunities among security professionals. ISSA is present in more than one hundred countries, including Europe and Asia, with more than 10,000 members.
As the founding chapter of ISSA, ISSA Los Angeles (ISSA-LA) has become the premier catalyst and community resource in Southern California for improving the practice of information security. The Chapter provides various training classes and lectures for information Security and IT professionals throughout the year and at the annual Summit. We accomplish this by providing:
- Education, networking and support to information security practitioners
- IT practitioners with information security responsibilities
- Information security vendors
- Outreach, advocacy and education to the broader Los Angeles community
ISSA-LA meets monthly for lunch and dinner and regularly collaborates with other IT and InfoSec organizations, having joint meetings with ISACA, OWASP, the Cloud Security Alliance, HTCIA, and the Association of IT Professionals to name a few.
Upcoming events (3)
See all- Cybersecurity Leaders PanelScopely, Inc., Culver City, CA
You must register and pay to attend: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cybersecurity-leaders-panel-tickets-1426087930389
### Come and network with your friends, make new friends, and hear a great panel. A buffet dinner will be served and drinks will be available.
Join us for a powerhouse panel, moderated by chapter president Richard Greenberg, featuring top minds in cybersecurity as they dissect today’s most pressing threats, emerging technologies, and strategies for safeguarding the digital future. From AI risks to nation-state attacks, these experts won’t hold back. Expect sharp insights, real-world experiences, and bold perspectives—from people who’ve been in the room when it mattered most.
If you're in the business of protecting data, people, or infrastructure, this event is for you. You’ll walk away with perspectives you can use to protect your organization.
Panelist One: Kevin Cardwell, President at Cyber2Labs, spent 22 years in the U.S. Navy where he worked as both a software and systems engineer on a variety of Department of Defense projects.
Mr. Cardwell has worked extensively with banks and financial institutions throughout the Middle East, Europe and UK helping them plan robust & secure architectures and implementing requirements to meet compliance. He served as leader of a Department of Defense Red Team with 100% success rate of compromise. Some recent consulting projects include Petroleum Development Oman and the Central Bank of Oman. He also designed and implemented the custom security baseline for the Oman Airport Management Company and two new airports.
Mr. Cardwell has a BS in Computer Science and a MS in Software Engineering. He has created several penetration testing and network defense courses.
Panelist Two: Nikolay Chernavsky is CISO at ISSquared Inc., a provider of Cybersecurity, Cloud, Infrastructure, Consulting and Digital Transformation services.
Prior to joining ISSQUARED Inc., Mr. Chernavsky held numerous executive and senior leadership roles in Cybersecurity and IT at PennyMac, Amgen and National Oilwell Varco.
Nikolay has played an active role in the Cybersecurity community by serving on the H-ISAC Board of Directors, forming and leading the Mortgage Risk Council for FS-ISAC and co-chairing Southern California Evanta “CISOs for CISOs” .
Nikolay has a MS degree in Computer Information Systems and CISSP & CISM certifications.
Panelist Three: Steven Weil is Point B’s Director of Cybersecurity. Mr. Weil has been a security engineer, security architect, auditor, senior security consultant and CISO. He has assessed, designed and built cybersecurity programs for a wide variety of organizations. He has also designed and implemented pragmatic compliance programs for SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS and CMMC.
Mr. Weil has expertise in creating security policies & standards, performing risk assessments, assessing and managing compliance and developing cybersecurity solutions for small & large organizations.
Mr. Weil has a Master’s degree in Information Science and numerous certifications including CISSP, CISA, CISM and CCSK.
Panelist Four: Michael Wylie MBA, CISSP is the Senior Director of a global managed threat hunting team, bringing expertise in strategic threat hunting. As the former Director of Threat Hunting at CrowdStrike and the Director of Cybersecurity Services at a top 100 accounting firm, he spearheaded the development and growth of DFIR and Threat Hunting.
With extensive experience teaching and training, Michael has delivered training for many organizations, including the U.S. Department of Defense, LinkedIn Learning, DEFCON, Moorpark College, California State Universities, and numerous clients worldwide.
- Cybersecurity & IT Professionals Networking Happy HourSorry Not Sorry, Los Angeles, CA
You must register and pay to attend: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cybersecurity-it-professionals-networking-happy-hour-tickets-1564664486599
### Cybersecurity & IT professionals are invited by ISSA LA and AITP LA for an evening of networking, drinks, and food at the remarkable Sorry Not Sorry restaurant & beer garden.
Connect with fellow Information Technology and Cybersecurity Professionals for networking, food, and drinks. Appetizers and your first drink are included with registration.
### Parking Instructions:
- Gateway Blvd has unmetered parking.
- Pico Blvd has metered parking, but free after 6 PM.
- Exposition Blvd has metered parking.
### Upon Arrival:
- Check-in at the front and the host will show you to our reserved space.
- Then get your name tag and drink ticket.
- Order a drink, eat some food, and start networking!
Terms & Disclaimers:
- Unless the event is canceled, all sales are nonrefundable.
- AITP-LA and ISSA-LA reserve the right to augment, delete, or alter items of the program in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
- By attending this event, you grant permission to be photographed during the event. These photographs may be used by AITP-LA and ISSA-LA for future promotion of AITP-LA and ISSA-LA on their websites and/or on printed promotional materials.
- ISSA LA Annual Security SummitAnnenberg Beach House, Santa Monica, CA
You must register and pay to attend: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/issa-la-cyber-security-summit-2025-women-in-security-forum-tickets-1351241151659
ISSA LA's flagship Security Summit returns to the iconic Annenberg Beach House. This event brings together leading CISOs, CIOs, IT and cybersecurity professionals and vendors from across Southern California.
The Summit will dive deep into today’s top cybersecurity challenges -- AI, ransomware, incident response, data security, governance, and security management—from intelligence, law enforcement, regulatory, legal, compliance, and vendor perspectives.
Attendees will gain cutting-edge insights from over 30 expert speakers, engage in interactive sessions and enjoy networking opportunities in a scenic beach side setting.
The Summit is widely regarded as the premier Information security event in Southern California.
Full event details at https://summit.issala.org
