Five Sessions on Critical Infrastructure Security You Won’t Want to Miss at ISC East 2026

ISC East 2026 is coming up Nov. 3–5 in New York City, and the Security Industry Association (SIA) and ISC West have revealed full conference details for the SIA Education at ISC East program, including keynote presentations from top luminaries and over 60 sessions from over 140 expert speakers on the most current business trends, technologies and industry developments.

Among the robust lineup of conference offerings are several sessions related to critical infrastructure and facilities protection. At ISC East 2026, you’ll discover expert insights on securing the urban edge, solving data center security challenges and more. Here are five sessions you won’t want to miss; make sure to add them to your ISC East calendar!

All Times EST

At the Grid’s Edge: Protecting Critical Infrastructure in an Era of Converged Threats

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 1:00–1:45 p.m.

Electric utilities face a rapidly evolving threat landscape that includes physical sabotage, insider threats, copper theft, drone incursions, cyber risks, and sophisticated attacks against critical infrastructure. When critical infrastructure is disrupted, the consequences extend far beyond a single facility, impacting public safety, essential services, and the communities that depend on reliable power every day.

At the same time, security teams are being asked to protect larger, more distributed networks of substations, transmission assets, renewable energy sites, and unmanned facilities with limited personnel and budgets, while meeting increasing regulatory and stakeholder expectations. This session explores how AI-powered security technologies are helping utilities move from reactive to proactive threat detection, operational intelligence, and risk management.

“Creating a secure and resilient electric grid, oil and gas facilities require we look beyond individual threats and understand how physical security, cybersecurity risk and business continuity intersect. This discussion is important because it brings together energy critical infrastructure security, risk management, technology and national security perspectives to explore how organizations can anticipate converged threats, protect increasingly distributed assets and maintain the reliable operations that communities depend on every day.”

—Doug Cherney, director, critical infrastructure, Minuteman Security & Life Safety

Speakers:

• Doug Cherney, director, critical infrastructure, Minuteman Security & Life Safety
• Dr. James Madia, president, ShieldPointe Partners
• Frank McCormick, director, risk management, South Jersey Industries

Data Center Security 101: Putting Principles Into Practice

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 9:30–10:15 a.m.

Data centers are a fast-growing and highly visible sector with security needs no less demanding than other elements of critical infrastructure. This session will examine the basics of securing data centers, using resources developed by the SIA Data Center Advisory Board—especially the recently released Data Center Security Principles—as a guide.

“Data centers present a number of interesting challenges for the planning, delivery and execution of a physical security strategy. Every aspect of access, surveillance and threat detection apply. Join the conversation in November at ISC East to share your experience and learn best practices from industry leaders.”

—Chris Hobbs, director, national accounts, ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions

Speakers:

• Allen DiGerolami, business development manager, video surveillance—data centers, Hanwha Vision
• David Fortune, global security programs director, Fleet Data Centers
• Chris Hobbs, director, national accounts, ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions
• Mike McGovern, vice president, business development, data centers, Orion Entrance Control

Securing the Urban Edge: How NYC Mitigated IoT and IIoT Cyber-Physical Risks on a Massive Scale in the Advent of AI

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

As American cities undergo rapid digital transformations, municipal networks are being flooded with unvetted Operational Technology (OT) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smart building automation systems. This expanding attack surface leaves critical urban infrastructure highly vulnerable to physical attacks, foreign cyber espionage, and ransomware—with potentially catastrophic cascading effects on public safety, power, and transit. This session delivers a real-world blueprint for overcoming these existential threats based on the strategy designed and executed by the City of New York Cyber Command.

Speakers:

• Bud Broomhead, CEO and founder, Viakoo
• John Gallagher, vice president, Viakoo Labs, Viakoo
• Michele Guel, senior security consultant
• Maria Sumnicht, national director of cybersecurity and infrastructure, Task Force on National and Homeland Security

Solving Data Center Physical Security Challenges, From Perimeter to Core

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

It’s not news to say that data center expansion is happening fast. But rapid growth means that security teams face a high-stakes challenge: How can we maintain airtight physical security while improving efficiency and avoiding disruptive retrofits? This panel gives a practical playbook for solving today’s security challenges in data centers. Featuring real-time, real-world examples from top data center directors and distributors, panelists will explore how physical entry solutions are planned, deployed and integrated across five critical layers: perimeter, exterior entrances, common areas, interior areas and high-security zones.

“As data centers scale at an unprecedented pace, physical security can’t be an afterthought. Join industry experts as they share practical lessons for securing modern data centers, improving visibility and aligning access control with operational goals.”

—Andrew Jimenez, senior director, data center technology consulting, Wesco

Speakers:

• Rick Estes, associate vice president of business development, dormakaba North America
• David Fortune, global security programs director, Fleet Data Centers
• Andrew Jimenez, senior director, data center technology consulting, Wesco
• Dennis Snipes, director of security and fire data centers North America, Johnson Controls

Current Challenges and Solutions in Data Center Physical Security

Thursday, Nov. 5, 11:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

The panelists/presenters in this session are an end user, a senior-level security consultant and two senior-level data center security manufacturer executives. They will discuss and contrast their experiences in security design for data centers and examine how the needs at data centers have evolved in recent years and the outlook for the next five years.

“There is a revolution taking place in data center physical security design. Data center and hyperscale facilities are moving towards increasingly ‘dark’ operations with minimal human presence. In this session, we’ll dig into how that shift is straining the physical security models built around staffed guard posts and manual checks. The next five years will be defined by how well the security industry shifts enforcement from people to automated, remotely managed systems, and that’s exactly the conversation we’re bringing to this panel.”

—Steve Caroselli, CEO, Orion Entrance Control

Speakers:

• Steve Caroselli, founder and CEO, Orion Entrance Control
• Joe Fallon, director of security and construction services, Faith Group
• Mike McGovern, vice president, business development, data centers, Orion Entrance Control

You can access the full SIA Education at ISC East conference program by registering for a SIA Education@ISC 3-day pass. Even better, use SIA’s links to get free access to the ISC East trade show and save 20% on your conference pass!