Call for Presentations - IOT IT Symposium, June 17, 2025

Last year, our inaugural Base Camp sessions brought together nearly 100 local government IT professionals, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing as they explored strategies to strengthen cybersecurity defenses in their communities.

This year, we anticipate welcoming more attendees, IT leaders eager to discover innovative ideas and actionable solutions to serve better and safeguard their communities.

Local governments face much uncertainty regarding funding, regulations, and new threat actors for their digital journeys. With so many changes simultaneously, losing sight of the trail is easy. We need "Digital Mountain Guides" to help our Base Camp climbers secure their pinions and anchor their cybersecurity defenses.

As a guide, you'll deliver a dynamic and insightful presentation to inform and educate our climbers about best practices, groundbreaking innovations, process improvements, and strategies for resiliency and response in cybersecurity.

We invite presenters from state or local governments, technology vendors providing services to state and local governments, and college faculty or staff specializing in cybersecurity or information technology.

Theme:  Anchoring Your Cyber Defenses

Please provide the following in your presentation proposal:

• Title of presentation
• Abstract (150-200 words)
• Brief speaker biography and relevant experience, 50 – 100 words
• Presentation Format: Will you be using a slide deck or presenting a video?
• Session Format: Will you be joined by a remote presenter?
• Corporate Presenters MUST have a state or local government sponsor and must provide contact information.
• Submit your proposal in PDF format
• Email submissions and questions to IOTLocalGovernmentProgram@iot.in.gov
• Submission must be received by May 8, 2025.

Presentation Details:

• Allotted time and schedule:
  • There will be three sessions of 1 ½ hours.
  • There will be two 40-minute presentations in each session. Please allow 5 minutes for questions and answers
  • Speakers will deliver their presentations twice, once in Disler A and once in Disler B.
  • CISA will host a tabletop exercise game in Disler C.
• Format options:
  • Individual speakers at podium
  • Moderated panel discussion
  • Please limit remote presentations
• Please note that this is not a sales presentation
• Please allow time for Q&A

Topics of Interest

• Emerging cybersecurity threats facing local governments
• Innovative solutions and technologies for enhancing cybersecurity
• Best practices for cybersecurity policy development
• Incident Response Planning
• Case studies showcasing successful cybersecurity implementations
• Collaboration between local governments and vendors for improved security
• Grant and Funding opportunities

Evaluation Criteria

• Relevance to the conference theme
• Innovation and originality of the proposed idea
• Clarity and organization of the presentation
• Speaker expertise and experience in the subject matter
• Actionability of presentation
• Context and relevance to current cybersecurity threats and trends

Notification of Acceptance

• IOT will evaluate presentation proposals and provide notice of acceptance by mid-May.
• Final presentations must be submitted to IOT Local Government Program by Friday, June 6.
• Presenters are responsible for travel and accommodation.