Cybersecurity conference explores the risks and rewards of AI

The Oct. 29 event is free and open to the public

Oct. 13, 2026
A close-up illustration of glowing binary code and data streams flowing across a digital surface, symbolizing cybersecurity, data protection, and network technology.

Keynote speaker Heather Case-Hall will discuss how organizations inadvertently expose sensitive information by giving AI access to poorly governed data.

Cybersecurity conference explores the risks and rewards of AI

The Oct. 29 event is free and open to the public

Oct. 13, 2026

Keynote speaker Heather Case-Hall will discuss how organizations inadvertently expose sensitive information by giving AI access to poorly governed data.

A close-up illustration of glowing binary code and data streams flowing across a digital surface, symbolizing cybersecurity, data protection, and network technology.

Keynote speaker Heather Case-Hall will discuss how organizations inadvertently expose sensitive information by giving AI access to poorly governed data.

Does artificial intelligence improve cybersecurity or is it potentially exposing sensitive data?

The University of Nevada, Reno Cybersecurity Center explores that question in its 2026 conference, Cyber-AI vs. AI-Cyber, Oct. 29 on the University campus. The conference is free and open to the public; registration is required.

Related Link

Cybersecurity expert and author Heather Case-Hall will deliver the keynote address “AI didn’t break in. We let it in,” examining how organizations inadvertently expose sensitive information by giving AI access to poorly governed data.

“Let’s be honest, sensitive data has a way of hiding in plain sight,” Case-Hall wrote in a LinkedIn post promoting her 2026 book, “Data in Plain Sight.” “Sometimes it is in the obvious systems. Sometimes it is in forgotten shares, old exports, collaboration tools, spreadsheets, or places no one has looked at in years. And with AI moving fast, 'we probably know where our data is’ is not a strategy.”

University faculty will also present at the conference. Computer science and engineering Assistant Professor Ankita Shuka will deliver the talk “Can we trust AI with the keys?” and electrical engineering Associate Professor Hao Xu will offer “The hidden cyber risks of commercial and consumer drones.” Speakers from Crytica Security, CarbonHelix Cyber and BlueRock, Viakoo and Microsoft also will discuss the use of AI in cybersecurity.

The conference is organized by the University’s Cybersecurity Center, a group of interdisciplinary faculty members working with industry partners to develop holistic solutions to cybersecurity challenges. The annual event is in its seventh year. The Cybersecurity Center participates in the cybersecurity M.S. degree program (both online and on-site); two undergraduate minors; and a cross-disciplinary graduate certificate in cybersecurity. The College of Engineering’s Bachelor of Science in computer science and engineering with a minor in cybersecurity is recognized by the National Security Agency as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD). 

Oct. 13, 2026

Editor's Picks

Vania Carter-Strauss presenting her doctorate project.

Experiences of the pack: Vania Carter-Strauss, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC
Small American Flags planted into the grass on the University of Nevada, Reno's quad.

The University of Nevada, Reno honors Sept. 11 with a week of commemorative events 25 years after the tragedy
Mick Hitchcock.

Moving science out of silos: A conversation with biochemist and philanthropist Mick Hitchcock, Ph.D.
Vania Carter-Strauss in the studio with the host of the Telemundo segment, Pulso de Salud with the Orvis School of Nursing

Smoke and fire preparedness