(Panel) De la salle de classe au cloud: les défis cyber de l'éducationFR
Guillaume Dubé Benoit Desautels
10h00
Pain is Weakness Leaving the EnterpriseEN
James Tomasello Adam Arellano
11h00
(Panel) AI Security and Security with AI - Where are we today?EN
Chris Roberts Gautam Korlam Hugues Foltz
12h00
Le Threat Hunting: Ce que vous devriez savoir pour préparer vos équipesBIL
Stéphane Asselin
12h15
LunchBIL
13h30
Sécurité physiqueFR
Francis Coats
14h30
Ransomware's Evolution to a Day-to-Day RealityEN
Cristian Cordeiro
15h00
(Panel) Startup: quand la cybersécurité s'impose dès le départFR
Mathieu Blais D'amours François Dufour Gabriel Lespérance
15h50
Coffee breakBIL
16h00
Agents IA en Cyber: Assez parlé, venez voir.FR
Samuel Bonneau
16h30
Cyberattaque vécue à la STOFR
Yves Béthencourt
17h30
[TLP:RED] From Shadows to Spotlight: Understanding Nation-State Cyber Threats and their relevance to CanadaEN
Amir Ali Palo Alto
18h00
Networking event with Palo AltoBIL
20h00
Hackfest OpeningBIL
Speakers
Guillaume Dubé
Speaker
Benoit Desautels
Panelist
Mathieu Blais D'amours
Panelist
Chris Roberts
Panelist
Gautam Korlan
Panelist
Stephane Asselin
Speaker
François Dufour
Panelist
James Tomasello
Speaker
Adam Arellano
Speaker
Samuel Bonneau
Speaker
Gabriel Lespérance
Paneliste
Francis Coats
Speaker
Hugues Foltz
Panelist
Yves Béthencourt
Speaker
Cristian Cordeiro
Speaker
Amir Ali
Speaker
Guillaume Dubé
Biography
Guillaume Dubé is an information security expert with over 17 years' experience at Université Laval, including 14 years in strategic and operational cybersecurity roles ranging from operational security to security architecture. For the past four years, he has held the position of Information Security Officer (CISO) at Université Laval, where he oversees information security risk management and digital asset protection. Recognized for his leadership in the field, Guillaume is also president of the Information Security Subcommittee of the Interuniversity Cooperation Bureau (ICB) and co-president of the Information Security Interest Group (SIG) within CUCCIO, actively contributing to the evolution of information security strategies in Canadian academia.
Benoit Desautels
Biography
Benoit Desautels is an information security expert with over 25 years of experience in the field of information technology. He has in-depth knowledge of the college network, having held almost every type of IT position. Since 2021, he has been Deputy Director of IT at the Fédération des cégeps, where he has established a center of expertise in information security and cyber defense. He continues to pursue professional development by obtaining recognized certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CCSP, CDPSE, and many others.
Mathieu Blais D'amours
Biography
A tech founder and physicist by training, he is a former fullstack software developer and technical lead at FireEye, Whoop, and ProtonMail. With a diverse background in tech, including deep expertise in cybersecurity, he has led innovative and strategic projects, committed to transforming technological challenges into growth opportunities. Driven by the conviction that technology should serve the common good, he works to create solutions that contribute positively to society while ensuring their commercial success.
Chris Roberts
Biography
Chris is working over at World Wide Technology, and has been lurking around our industry since before its inception (the lack of hair helping to identify this). His most recent projects have been focused within the aerospace, deception, deepfake, identity, cryptography, AI/AdversarialAI, and services sectors.
Over the years, he's founded or worked with numerous organizations specializing in human research, data intelligence, transportation, cryptography, and deception technologies. These days he's working on spreading risk, maturity, collaboration, and communication messaging across the industry. (Likely while coding his augmented EEG driven digital clone that's monitoring his Internet usage, and tea and biscuit consumption!)
When not working he can be found in Eureka, Missouri charging round the countryside on a mountain bike, or hunkered down with the kids experimenting on ways to take over the planet. From an observability perspective he's large, hairy, often wears a kilt, and can be found on stage with a cuppa tea in hand trying to explain to audiences why they must ask more questions before clicking life's big red button.
Gautam Korlan
Biography
Gautam is a Co-Founder at Gitar where he is building Jimy—an agentic AI that transforms software development through autonomous code maintenance and optimization. Gitar's mission is to enable engineering teams to build better software faster with less technical debt by leveraging AI-native tools with deep code understanding.
Previously a Principal Engineer on Uber's Developer Platform Team, Gautam has extensive experience solving productivity challenges in enterprise-scale codebases. He is passionate about creating AI-powered developer tools that truly understand code context and can work autonomously across the entire software lifecycle. Gautam has spoken at numerous industry conferences on topics including monorepos, build systems, CI/CD at scale, and most recently, the application of agentic AI to solve developer productivity challenges.
Stephane Asselin
Biography
Stephane Asselin, with his 30+ years of experience in IT, is the Country Manager for the entire CrowdStrike Canada Engineering Technical Team. He has national responsibility for Canada for a team that works with customer at planning, designing, and implementing Security solutions and all processes involved. At CrowdStrike, Mr. Asselin works with top Canadian strategic customers and partners, enabling them on all Modules of the CrowdStrike platform, developing technical expertise and helping them secure their local and remote workforce.
François Dufour
Biography
From a young age, I've had an unwavering passion for technology—especially for taking things apart and understanding how they work. This curiosity naturally led me to the world of cybersecurity, where I honed my skills until I became Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at CoeurWay. Following the acquisition of CoeurWay by MEDFAR, the largest EMR provider in Quebec, I traded my CISO hat for that of DevOps Specialist. Today, I operate at the crossroads of infrastructure, security, and automation, with the same desire to dig under the hood and optimize everything that can be optimized (and break things... but cleanly!)
James Tomasello
Biography
James Tomasello is a Principal Security Advisor and founding team member of Credible Security, a cybersecurity firm focused on delivering tailored and effective solutions for organizations of all shapes and sizes. She is a technology and policy expert focused on practical, sustainable operations and outcomes aligned with business risks. For over 20 years, she has built global, multidisciplinary security, operations, compliance, trust, and safety teams at internet service providers, security companies, law firms, and nonprofits. Jamie has served as a startup mentor for the Techstars Detroit accelerator program and received the Give First Award for exemplifying Techstars' philosophy of helping everyone, especially entrepreneurs, without expecting anything in return.
Adam Arellano
Biography
Arellano is the Field Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Harness where he provides partnership and guidance to customers and the broader industry on API and application security. He is well known as a progressive and inventive technology executive offering over 15 years of success in championing mission-driven initiatives focused on cloud, AI, and information security innovation. He has assembled a rich blend of technical prowess and business acumen, culminating with a talent for building effective cybersecurity programs and teams as a foundation for scalable and highly secure information architectures. He’s a pragmatic advisor and team leader who thrives when harnessing insights into interactions between people and systems to build genuinely unique technology solutions. Adam is a devoted parent to six children living in Charlotte, NC, where he is a profoundly amateur cook with a strong aversion to cleaning the kitchen. As an analogue to his time in the Marine Corps, he is passionate about helping transitioning service members and promotes causes that offer foster care and adoption services to local community members.
Samuel Bonneau
Biography
Samuel Bonneau is a cybersecurity expert with over 25 years of experience, recognized for his innovative approach, leadership, and ability to generate strategic growth. He has played a key role in designing and implementing cybersecurity strategies for some of Canada's largest companies. Currently Leader – Cybersecurity Strategy and AI Services at Vooban, he combines cybersecurity and artificial intelligence to strengthen corporate defense strategies, enabling companies to leverage the latest technological advances for robust and sustainable protection.
Gabriel Lespérance
Biography
Francis Coats
Biography
An expert, educator, and speaker on security and technology, he is one of the few experts in Canada to hold both PSP (Physical Security Professional) and CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) certifications.
A police officer and engineer by training, he is described by the Quebec media as one of the most recognized security experts in Quebec.
Mr. Coats holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with a focus on information technology and telecommunications from the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS). He is currently completing a master's degree in innovation management. His expertise is backed by more than 100 certifications in various fields, including cybersecurity, physical security, systems engineering, and systems administration, obtained from institutions such as the Canadian Police College, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Associated Locksmiths of America (ALOA), etc.
Mr. Coats has worked in state security for many years. He has made recommendations for the physical protection of important sites such as the National Assembly and has served as Strategic Advisor to the Assistant Deputy Minister at the Department of Cybersecurity and Digital (DCD). Francis Coats is an expert in circumventing security systems, whether physical, electronic, or computer-based.
An impactful speaker, he shares his knowledge through dozens of training sessions and conferences. Known for his pragmatism and candor, Mr. Coats helps break paradigms and shed light on blind spots in security.
Hugues Foltz
Biography
Hugues Foltz has been helping companies develop and execute their digital transformation for over 20 years. In 2018, he became co-owner and executive vice president at Vooban, a firm renowned for its expertise in artificial intelligence and the development of customized software solutions.
Yves Béthencourt
Biography
Currently Director of Information Resources at the Outaouais Transit Corporation. With over 25 years of experience in information technology (IT) management and a diverse background in both the public and private sectors, he has developed in-depth expertise in IT strategy, cybersecurity, infrastructure management, service centers, and information management. Passionate about process optimization, IT infrastructure modernization, and the implementation of innovative solutions that meet the complex needs of organizations.
Cristian Cordeiro
Biography
Cristian Cordeiro is the Offensive Security Manager and has been involved in Cybersecurity in various roles for the last 10+ years, overlapping with a career in software development that started in 1997. Cristian started his journey at TELUS as a contractor performing Penetration Tests and Security Assessments, becoming a full-time employee of the Offensive Security team 2 years after that. At that point Cristian started performing Social Engineering engagements, Code Review and other engagements focused in Secure Software Development and Social Engineering. After being a member of the team for another 2 years Cristian became the Practice Lead actively working towards automation, reviewing deprecated processes, fostering a team environment and wrapping a culture of resilience around every activity of the team, allowing for scalable growth and great work-life balance.
Cristian has a Science background earned in Brazil where he was born and raised. After obtaining an undergraduate degree in Software Development and a Master's Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Brazil, Cristian moved to Canada where he started a new life in 2008.
Cristian has recently developed a passion for sales and has promoted a culture of collaboration with various sales specialists creating custom solutions, promoting existing offers and helping the practice grow both in revenue and size.
Cristian has been awarded the President's Club 2022 award.
Amir Ali
Biography
8h00 - Registration opens
Description
8h55 - Opening words
Description
9h00 - (Panel) De la salle de classe au cloud: les défis cyber de l'éducation
Description
10h00 - Pain is Weakness Leaving the Enterprise
Description
Effective disaster recovery and incident response in the enterprise have analogous "real world" experiences that require rigorous preparation and training. Security teams should anticipate breaches and be ready for them, much like Marines prepare for combat or ultramarathoners prepare for a race, advocating for "sweating more in training to bleed less in battle". The core message is to embrace "pain" in the form of training, repetition, conditioning, and learning to develop consistent responses and technical proficiency, ultimately aiming for a state where organizations are so well-prepared that pain is ideally never felt during an actual incident. Security teams should practice for defeat and learn to recover, moving beyond initial training ("shifting left") to continuous follow-on training ("shifting right") and understand the difference between pain management and pain avoidance.
11h00 - (Panel) AI Security and Security with AI - Where are we today?
Description
12h00 - Le Threat Hunting: Ce que vous devriez savoir pour préparer vos équipes
Description
In this session, we will examine the latest adversary-related themes, trends, and events tracked by CrowdStrike's Counter-Adversary Operations team — the industry's leading experts in threat intelligence and threat hunting.
12h15 - Lunch
Description
13h30 - Sécurité physique
Description
14h30 - Ransomware's Evolution to a Day-to-Day Reality
Description
Ransomware's Evolution to a Day-to-Day Reality: 2025 Canadian Cybersecurity Landscape Analysis
This presentation examines Canada's 2025 ransomware landscape based on the TELUS Canadian Ransomware Study, building on 2022 landmark research to analyze attack patterns, financial impacts, and organizational responses.
Key findings reveal 85% of Canadian organizations experienced ransomware incidents in 2025—a 20% increase from 2021. Multiple extortion attacks (42%) dominate, using layered data exfiltration and encryption tactics. While average ransom payments dropped 80% to $17,000, total incident costs averaged $96,000, with ransoms representing only 17% of expenses. Financial services, retail, and municipal government face the highest incident rates. Organizations are 2.5 times more likely to experience repeat attacks, indicating persistent defensive vulnerabilities.
The research demonstrates ransomware's evolution from exceptional threat to routine operational risk. Organizations must adopt proactive cybersecurity postures, implementing comprehensive Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solutions and robust business continuity planning. Reduced stigma around incident disclosure suggests improved industry maturity in addressing cybersecurity challenges.
15h00 - (Panel) Startup: quand la cybersécurité s'impose dès le départ
Description
15h50 - Coffee break
Description
16h00 - Agents IA en Cyber: Assez parlé, venez voir.
Description
Agents IA en Cyber: Assez parlé, venez voir.
Everyone promises that AI agents will revolutionize cybersecurity, but who has actually seen them in action? In this conference, you will be treated to a live demonstration of intelligent agents serving operational cybersecurity (SOC). You'll discover how these autonomous agents are finally tackling crucial problems that have remained unsolved until now, such as alert overload, talent shortages, and limited responsiveness, to radically transform your defense against cyber threats.
16h30 - Cyberattaque vécue à la STO
Description
During this presentation, you will have the opportunity to hear Yves Béthencourt, Director of Information Resources at STO, share his experience regarding the exploitation of a security breach that occurred in 2021 and had major consequences for the organization. He will share his perspective and experience regarding this ransomware attack.
17h30 - [TLP:RED] From Shadows to Spotlight: Understanding Nation-State Cyber Threats and their relevance to Canada
Description
This presentation will contain TLP:RED information, which is sensitive and proprietary. The content is confidential and intended for participants only.
In an era defined by geopolitical tension and digital conflict, understanding nation-state cyber threats is crucial for executive leaders responsible for strategic security decisions. Canada, like many countries, faces increasingly sophisticated and targeted cyber threats from nation-state actors seeking to disrupt critical infrastructure, government institutions, and economic stability. This session will illuminate key global trends and strategic insights from recent nation-state cyber campaigns that are relevant to Canada. Attendees will leave equipped with actionable intelligence to guide effective decision-making and enhance organizational resilience.
