ISSA Los Angeles

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About us

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

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The AI Shift in Cybersecurity: What Breaks, What Survives, What Wins
Tue, Jul 21 · 5:30 PM PDT
Veterans Memorial Building, 4117 Overland Avenue, Culver City, CA, US
You must register to attend: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-ai-shift-in-cybersecurity-what-breaks-what-survives-what-wins-tickets-1988245285170

### Topic One: The AI Shift in Cybersecurity: What Breaks, What Survives, What Wins

Cybersecurity is entering a new phase, defined not by a single tool or technology, but by a fundamental shift in how work gets done.

In this session, Mikhael Felker shares a “state of the union” perspective on how AI is reshaping cybersecurity functions and decision-making. Drawing from experience across enterprise environments and startup innovation, he will explore what is changing rapidly, what remains constant, and where security leaders should focus to stay ahead.

The discussion will go beyond AI tooling to examine how core functional areas, including vulnerability management, offensive security, secure development lifecycle (SDLC), security operations, GRC, and hiring are evolving in practice. Attendees will gain concrete examples of how traditional workflows are compressed, augmented, or replaced, alongside areas where human judgment, risk trade-offs, and organizational design remain critical.

This session is designed for security leaders and practitioners who want a clear, practical lens on how to prepare for the next phase of cybersecurity, and how to position themselves and their teams for what comes next.

Speaker One: Mikhael Felker

Mikhael Felker is the Head of Security & Privacy Engineering at Verily Health. He has over 20 years of experience in security, privacy, risk, compliance, and IT, working at both startups and several Fortune 10 companies. Mikhael is an advisor for ArmorIQ.

Felker received his M.S. in Information Security Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. in Computer Science from UCLA. His written work, comprising over 50 publications, has been featured in Forbes, ACM, IEEE Security & Privacy, ISACA Journal, ISSA Journal, podcasts, case studies, and several online magazines.

### Topic Two: Threat Hunting 101 (in an AI World)!

AI tools are proliferating faster than security teams can track them. In this session, Cory Marchand will walk through how modern threat hunters are adapting to the new enterprise AI landscape, particularly the risks introduced by unsanctioned AI tools. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how threat hunting can best be executed in a rapidly changing AI-driven world.

### Speaker Two: Cory Marchand

Cory Marchand is Director of threat hunting for Coalfire. He leads global teams in advanced detection, incident response, and proactive threat hunting. With over 20 years of cybersecurity experience, he has held senior leadership roles at CrowdStrike and Coalition.

Cory is a recognized expert in detection engineering, malware analysis, and Red/Blue team integration, holding multiple GIAC, CISSP, and industry certifications. He has published extensively on network security and malware analysis and continues to drive innovation in scaling security operations to meet today’s evolving threat landscape.
8 attendees