Navigating 2026 Cyber Risk: Inside the Billington CyberSecurity Summit

Cybersecurity at the state and local level has shifted from being an IT function to an operational mandate. It now sits at the center of service continuity, public trust, and national resilience. Threats are evolving faster, adversaries are more coordinated, and the technology landscape is becoming complex. 

This is the backdrop for the Billington Cybersecurity Summit returning to Washington, DC. Now, in its third year, the Summit is designed for alignment rather than abstraction. It is less about broad awareness and more about operational clarity. 

If you are attending this year, here is what to expect and how to approach it strategically. 

An Overview of the Summit

Date: March 9-11, 2026

Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, DC

Audience: State and local CISOs, CIOs, federal cyber leaders, public sector technology heads, and industry partners.

The Billington CyberSecurity Summit is known for its federal cybersecurity education events and also focuses on state, local, tribal, and territorial environments (SLTT). 

The theme for 2026 is “Connecting Leaders from All Levels of Government”. It reflects a practical reality, and unlike other industry events, the conversations here are grounded in operational constraints such as workforce shortages, budget limits, and aging infrastructure. 

Why Billngton CyberSecurity Summit 2026 Marks a Turning Point

Public sector cybersecurity isn’t just evolving, it’s compressing. Multiple pressure points that once moved independently are now converging and accelerating. 

Here’s why 2026 represents a critical inflection point:

• Ransomware is Persistent, Not Occasional: Municipalities and critical infrastructure are facing continuous threat cycles, not isolated attacks. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, there were $59.6 million in ransomware losses in 2023.
• AI is Powering Both Defense and Offense: According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026, AI is reshaping risk by strengthening detection and also accelerating adversarial sophistication. 94% of survey respondents also agree that AI will be the most significant driver of change in cybersecurity. 
• Supply Chain Risk is Operational: Third-party vulnerabilities are now daily execution challenges, not theoretical concerns
• Workforce Gaps Continue: Talent shortages are forcing agencies to rethink automation, partnerships, and skill development. According to the ISC2 2024 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, the global cybersecurity workforce gap was 4.8 million professionals. 
• Federal Mandates Are Accelerating: National strategies and zero-trust requirements are evolving faster than local implementation capacity

The Billington Cybersecurity Summit arrives at this intersection, where policy ambition meets operational reality. The value of the event lies in narrowing that gap.

Conversations Shaping the 2026 Agenda

One of the defining elements of this year’s programme is its emphasis on federal–state alignment and operational execution.

The agenda moves intentionally from national strategy to on-the-ground implementation, ensuring that discussions reflect the realities facing state and local cybersecurity leaders.

Here are the sessions that help set the tone for the Summit:

1. America First Cyber Strategy: Engaging State & Local Partners

Date and time: March 9 | 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Speaker: Sean Cairncross, White House National Cyber Director
Moderator: Tom Billington, Billington CyberSecurity, Chairman and Chief Content Officer

This opening conversation sets the direction for the Summit. It explains how national cybersecurity priorities affect state and local governments and what stronger agency coordination should look like in practice to strengthen public sector resilience in 2026.

2. Creative Cybersecurity Resource Planning During Uncertain Financial Times

Date and time: March 10 | 9:45 AM – 10:20 AM
Speakers: Michael Watson, Commonwealth of Virginia, CISO | Christine Serrano Glassner, CISA, Chief of External Affairs
Moderator: Bo Reese, GDIT, Senior Director for State and Local Government

Budget pressure is a reality for most public sector teams. This panel explores how leaders are prioritizing investments, modernizing systems, and maintaining security standards despite funding limitations. 

3. Getting Your Data Ready for AI

Date and time: March 10 | 11:45 AM – 12:30 PM
Speakers: Jake Hammock, Assistant Chief Technology Officer, Security & Infrastructure Director | Dr. Erin Barker, PNNL, Senior Research Scientist | Tony Sauerhoff, State of Texas, Chief AI and Innovation Officer
Moderator: A.J. Bhadelia, Cohere, North American Lead of Gov Affairs

As AI becomes more integrated into government systems, agencies must carefully prepare their data environments. This breakout discusses practical steps for building secure, well-governed data foundations before scaling AI initiatives. 

Beyond these conversations, the Billington CyberSecurity Summit features additional sessions addressing ransomware mitigation, software supply chain risk, workforce development, and cross-jurisdiction coordination.

To explore the complete keynote lineup and full breakout schedule, you can review the detailed agenda on the official Summit program page.

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How to Approach the Billington CyberSecurity Summit With Intent

Summits such as these don’t lack insight, but they lack filtration that leads to attendee frustrations. Without a clear lens, it’s easy to leave with expanded awareness but no shift in execution. 

Here’s how to approach this summit effectively:

To maximize value:

• Arrive with one active priority, ransomware mitigation, AI governance, workforce development, or supply chain risk, and filter sessions through that lens.
• Identify one operational constraint in your agency and listen for practical approaches that address it directly.
• Prioritise peer conversations with leaders operating at a similar scale and complexity.
• Define clear actions to evaluate after the event.

At summits like the Billington, value isn’t measured by how much you absorb. It’s measured by how precisely you convert discussion into operational movement. Clarity doesn’t come from attending more sessions, but it comes from filtering through execution. 

How Rozie Synopsis Helps the Billington CyberSecurity Summit Extend Event Impact

The Billington CyberSecurity Summit is designed as a high-intensity, policy-to-practice gathering. Conversations move quickly across federal strategy, AI governance, ransomware mitigation, and cross-jurisdiction coordination. Without structure, valuable insight can fade as quickly as it’s delivered. 

To see how structured insight capture works in practice, you can explore the 2025 Billington CyberSecurity Summit Knowledge Hub, which shows how Rozie Synopsis transforms live discussions into branded, knowledgeable assets. 

This structured approach creates measurable value for all summit stakeholders:

For Summit Organizers:

• Year-round content engine: Federal and SLTT discussions become structured, searchable assets that support post-event communications and future programming.
• Higher on-site engagement: Real-time, multi-lingual insights and session summaries are displayed on the venue screen and within the event app, creating an interactive experience that keeps attendees updated and engaged. 
• Measurable engagement visibility: Topic-level insights reveal which themes generated sustained attention across the event. Panelists know who engaged with their content.

For Attendees:

• No missed insights across parallel tracks: Structured recaps allow for revisiting sessions they could not attend live.
• Faster strategic review: Concise summaries, key insights, takeaways, trends, topics, and recommendations surface without requiring hours of recording playback.
• AI-powered knowledge discovery: The Knowledge Advisor allows attendees to ask natural-language questions and retrieve insights across sessions, helping them prepare internal briefings or policy discussions after returning to their jurisdictions.

For Speakers:

• Extended reach: Key ideas remain accessible and searchable long after the Summit ends. 
• Amplified messaging: Structured insights make it easier to reference and share core recommendations.
• Topic-level analytics: Speakers gain visibility into which themes resonated most with attendees. 

For Sponsors and Partners:

• Year-round visibility: Sponsored sessions remain active within a searchable knowledge hub.
• Engagement tracking: Interaction data provides clarity into how content performed post-event, who all engaged with it, and for how long.
• Demonstrable ROI: Structured insight capture connects sponsor presence to measurable audience engagement.

Rozie Synopsis ensures that the value of the Billington CyberSecurity Summit continues to influence policy decisions and operational planning long after the event concludes. 

Talk to us to learn about how we transform live discussions into lasting insight.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity in the public sector has moved beyond departmental responsibility. It now shapes public trust, service continuity, and national resilience.

For leaders mapping out their cybersecurity conference 2026 calendar, the Billington CyberSecurity Summit remains one of the most strategically positioned cybersecurity gatherings of the year. 

The Billington CyberSecurity Summit serves as a convergence point where federal direction, state implementation, and local execution meet. The value of the event will not be measured by attendance alone, but by how effectively leaders translate alignment into action.

FAQs 

Q1. When and where is the Billington CyberSecurity Summit 2026 taking place?

The Billington CyberSecurity Summit will take place in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC, from March 9-11, 2026. is designed for state and local CISOs, CIOs, federal cybersecurity leaders, SLTT technology heads, and industry partners responsible for public sector resilience. 

Q2. What makes the Billington CyberSecurity Summit different from other cybersecurity conferences?

Unlike large industry expos, the Billington Summit focuses on federal-state alignment and operational execution within constrained public sector environments. 

Q3. What are the key points of discussion for this year’s Billington CyberSecurity Summit?

Key themes include ransomware resilience, AI governance, supply chain security, workforce development, zero trust implementation, and cross-jurisdiction coordination. 

Q4. How does structured insight capture extend the value of the summit?

Summit discussions move quickly, and key recommendations can fade once the event ends. With structured insights captured through Rozie Synopsis, live sessions are converted into searchable summaries and clear takeaways, making it easier to brief leadership, align teams, and translate dialogue into implementation. 

When insight is documented and accessible, the Summit becomes a working reference and not just a moment in time.