
DCFR is excited to partner with the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) and the Harvard Business School Club of Colorado (HBS CC) to bring together a distinguished panel exploring critical questions in today's threat landscape.
Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, nation-state actors (including those from Russia, China, and Iran) continue to target critical infrastructure through persistent cyber campaigns, while hybrid warfare blurs lines between state-sponsored disruption and criminal ransomware. Ransomware incidents surged dramatically through 2025, with critical sectors like energy, manufacturing, and utilities hit hardest. The rapid emergence of agentic AI—autonomous systems capable of independent decision-making—amplifies risks, enabling faster, more sophisticated attacks, tool-chain vulnerabilities, and potential exploitation of non-human identities. These trends heighten concerns over adversarial access to robotic and autonomous fleets in defense, logistics, and industry.
The discussion will center around, but will not be limited to, the following questions:
- How to protect our critical infrastructure?
- How to protect our companies and their IP?
- How to avoid foreign/rogue adversaries hacking robot fleets?
Panelists
Patrick Miller: President and CEO at Ampyx Cyber
Deep expertise in cybersecurity and critical infrastructure and industry focused on protecting industrial control systems and operational technologies.
Derek Booth: Assistant Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Secret Service
Federal law enforcement and cybercrime expertise focused on protecting organizations from complex and evolving threats.
John Fokker: Vice President, Threat Intelligence Strategy with Trellix
Drives a cross-functional mission to detect, understand, and disrupt cyber adversaries.
Gina Yacone: Regional, Advisory, and Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Trace3
Advises senior security leaders on emerging trends in cybersecurity, identifying and addressing security gaps, developing robust defense mechanisms, and implementing targeted, advanced security measures.
Moderated By: Carter Freeman: Vice President of vcfo’s Western Region, Board of Directors of National Defense Industrial Organization – Rocky Mountain Chapter
Senior finance executive leading vcfo’s regional Denver office, specializing in finance, accounting, human resources and mergers and acquisitions with special emphasis on aerospace and defense.
Presented by Jens "J" Mobius: Managing Partner of Infinity Partners, President of Harvard Business School Club of Colorado. Boosting transatlantic mid-market deep tech manufacturing company performance while making leading tech available across the pond.