What Security Congress Reveals About the State of Cybersecurity

This discussion focuses on what ISC2 Security Congress represents for practitioners, leaders, and organizations navigating constant technological change. Jon France, Chief Information Security Officer at ISC2, shares how the event brings together thousands of cybersecurity practitioners, certification holders, chapter leaders, and future professionals to exchange ideas on the issues shaping the field today.

Themes That Stand Out

AI remains a central point of attention. France notes that organizations are grappling not only with adoption but with the shift in speed it introduces. Sessions highlight how analysts are beginning to work alongside automated systems that sift through massive data sets and surface early indicators of compromise. Rather than replacing entry-level roles, AI changes how they operate and accelerates the decision-making path. Quantum computing receives a growing share of focus as well. Attendees hear about timelines, standards emerging from NIST, and what preparedness looks like as cryptographic models shift.

Identity-based attacks and authorization failures also surface throughout the program. With machine-driven compromises becoming easier to scale, the community explores new defenses, stronger controls, and the practical realities of machine-to-machine trust. Operational technology, zero trust, and machine-speed threats create additional urgency around modernizing security operations centers and rethinking human-to-machine workflows.

A Place for Every Stage of the Career

France describes Security Congress as a cross-section of the profession: entry-level newcomers, certification candidates, hands-on practitioners, and CISOs who attend for leadership development. Workshops explore communication, business alignment, and critical thinking skills that help professionals grow beyond technical execution and into more strategic responsibilities.

Looking Ahead to the Next Congress

The next ISC2 Security Congress will be held in October in the Denver/Aurora area. France expects AI and quantum to remain key themes, along with contributions shaped by the call-for-papers process. What keeps the event relevant each year is the mix of education, networking, community stories, and real-world problem-solving that attendees bring with them.

The ISC2 Security Congress 2025 is a hybrid event taking place from October 28 to 30, 2025 Coverage provided by ITSPmagazine

GUEST:

Jon France, Chief Information Security Officer at ISC2 | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonfrance/

HOST:

Sean Martin, Co-Founder, ITSPmagazine and Studio C60 | Website: https://www.seanmartin.com

Follow our ISC2 Security Congress coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/cybersecurity-technology-society-events/isc2-security-congress-2025

Catch all of our event coverage: https://www.itspmagazine.com/technology-and-cybersecurity-conference-coverage

ISC2 Security Congress: https://www.isc2.org

NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards: https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/post-quantum-cryptography

ISC2 Chapters: https://www.isc2.org/chapters

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KEYWORDS: cybersecurity, ai security, isc2 congress, quantum computing, identity attacks, zero trust, soc automation, cyber jobs, cyber careers, cyber leadership, security operations, threat intelligence, machine speed, authentication, authorization, sean martin, jon france, identity, soc, certification, leadership, event coverage, on location, conference

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