Polk County Security Summit 2026

AI has changed the threat model. This is where Polk County's IT and security leaders come together to catch up. A half-day summit for those responsible for security at Polk County's banks, hospitals, campuses, logistics firms, manufacturers, and city and county government. Nine sessions, a live AI adversary demonstration, box lunch, and the peer discussions that are hard to find anywhere else. Free for students and IT leaders, in recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Presented by Daybook Consulting, Sittadel, and Hook Security, anchored by the Polk County CIO ThinkTank. Doors open at 9:30 AM. Programme from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Catapult Lakeland, The Assembly, 2nd Floor 502 E. Main St, Lakeland, FL 33801 AGENDA 9:30 - 10:00 AM | Doors Open and Networking Arrival, introductions, coffee, and informal networking. 10:00 - 10:10 AM | Welcome and Setting the Stage Joshua Sitta (Sittadel) and Chip Nuttall (Daybook Consulting). The purpose of the day and an introduction to the Polk County CIO ThinkTank. 10:10 - 10:40 AM | Building a Common Language: Traditional Threats, AI Threats, and Agency Joshua Sitta, Co-Founder, Sittadel. The use of AI still lacks a standardised universal language. This session builds a common foundation for discussing internal and external AI use cases before moving on to more advanced material. 10:40 - 11:20 AM | Make the Threat Real: AI Adversary Live Demonstration Matt Wagner (Red Leg Dev) and Garrett Poorbaugh (Sittadel). From concepts of external AI capabilities to a tangible demonstration of what AI-enabled adversarial activity actually looks like and how to transform those threats into growth opportunities for your programme. 11:20 - 11:50 AM | Governing AI: Moving Before the Rules Are Finished Zachary Eikenberry, CEO, Hook Security. A thought-provoking governance session for leaders who must make AI usage and approval decisions now. 11:50 AM - 12:10 PM | Box Lunch and Break 12:10 - 12:50 PM | AI in Action: Initial Lessons from SOC Operations Garrett Poorbaugh, COO, Sittadel. The initial challenges of applying AI to security operations, building processes from natural language, and how to design these solutions around your programme's objectives. 12:50 - 1:20 PM | AI Workforce Today: Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Human Behaviour Garrett Poorbaugh and Alex Delfino, Sittadel. Introducing AI into daily operations requires intentional consideration of its impact on processes and on people. 1:20 - 1:50 PM | 2035: Three Predictions About the Future of Security Zachary Eikenberry, CEO, Hook Security. Moving beyond operational discussions into what the security landscape may actually resemble five to ten years from now. 1:50 - 2:00 PM | Practical Close Closing statements and a brief list of actions team leaders can take on Monday morning. WHO SHOULD ATTEND Free tickets for students and IT and security leaders across Polk County and Central Florida: CIO, CISO, VP of IT, Director of IT and Security, network and security engineers, IT managers, GRC and compliance, public sector IT, and CS/cyber/IT students with a valid .edu or student ID. PARKING $1 per hour at the Main Street Parking Garage. The first 50 registrants will get validated parking. Full details: https://polksecuritysummit.com/ Questions: [email protected]