Insights / Press

Steve McGeown addresses the growing challenges facing organizations from AI-powered bad actors during Secure Software by Design 

Toronto, OntarioSteve McGeown, security practice lead for QA Consultants, will present “Good vs Evil: AI Attack Mitigation Strategies” on August 6, 2024, during the Secure Software by Design 2024 conference hosted by the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute in Arlington, Virginia. 

The next generation of cyberattacks, powered by bad actors armed by AI technologies, is here. Cyber security professionals have the responsibility to understand this imminent danger to their businesses. It’s estimated that a lack of effective cyber security costs businesses up to $10 trillion (about $31,000 per person in the US) worldwide each year, and this figure doesn’t speak to the hidden costs of a cyber breach that include the loss of client trust and a drop in market share. The time is now for companies to identify the weakest links in their software to avoid malicious infiltration and discover strategies to combat AI-driven attacks on their network.  

Session Description 

Bad actors are more powerful now than ever before. Armed with AI-based technologies, unlimited computer power, encryption, password guessing tools, and substantial human and financial resources, organizations worldwide are struggling to combat their sophisticated and relentless pursuits. How do you fight an “invisible” enemy that hides behind untraceable IP addresses, based in countries on the other side of the world, and are seemingly unreachable due to the lack of internationally adopted legal protections? This session dives into five proven risk mitigation strategies to fight back against the criminals that are infiltrating our companies, stealing personal information, holding systems hostage, siphoning money, and more – all for personal gain, while putting property and lives at risk. 

Steve’s presentation is in-person at the Cooperative Plaza Conference Center and starts at 3:30 PM ET. As of this writing, registration is still open, and tickets are available. 

About Steve McGeown 

Steve McGeown is the security practice lead for QA Consultants and has worked in executive management for 20 years. He brings engineering-level technical competence in network, infrastructure, and application security, network design, service provider infrastructure (mobile, wireline, and security), mobile applications, and managed services for clients of all sizes – from enterprise to startups – and across a broad range of verticals. 

About Secure Software by Design 

The Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute (CMU SEI) has been in the forefront of secure software development, promoting a “shift left” approach whereby security weaknesses are addressed, prevented, or eliminated earlier in the software development cycle, which saves time and money. Building on this approach, the 2nd annual Secure Software by Design seeks to promote security being an integral aspect of the entire software lifecycle as a result of following deliberate, intentional engineering processes rather than security being addressed in individual stages as one-off activities.  

Secure Software by Design is intended to improve the state of this holistic secure development approach by bringing together thought leaders in this area for presentations and discussions. These cover all aspects of secure software systems development including application threat modeling, development of security requirements, secure software architectures, DevSecOps, secure development platforms and pipelines, software assurance, secure coding practices, software testing, and more. 

Secure Software by Design 2024 will be two on-site days (August 6-7) of panel discussions and presentations, plus two optional on-site days of training, and is being held in Arlington, Virginia. 

About QA Consultants 

QA Consultants (QAC) is North America’s largest quality engineering firm and part of the $5B ALTEN Group. For over 30 years, QAC has successfully delivered 12,000+ mission-critical projects across industries, including media, healthcare, government,insurance, energy, and more. QAC’s award-winning services are sought after by quality, product development, and business application professionals who need to: improve the time to market of new and updated products or applications, reduce risk associated with software failures, and lower software product and/or app development costs. QAC’s services, solutions, and products leverage current automation frameworks and tools to ensure your software applications: perform reliably under normal, unusual, and high-stress situations, conform to all security requirements, maintain data quality, comply with local or national accessibility standards, and utilize cost-efficient testing methods and tools. Learn more

Discover how QA Consultants specialists can address your integration quality assurance needs. Speak to an engineer today.