ISACA Hybrid Meeting - APR 2025 Recap

Event Overview

We were thrilled to welcome members both in‑person and virtually for our April Chapter Meeting! This month’s agenda featured cutting‑edge sessions on today’s hottest cybersecurity topics, inspiring student scholarship presentations, and an exciting raffle giveaway.

Featured Presentations

🔐 Data Extortion & Exfiltration – The New Age of Ransomware

Speaker: Doug Lubahn, VP Customer Success at BlackFog

Doug shared real‑world insights into the rapidly evolving ransomware threat landscape. With volume and complexity at an all‑time high, attendees learned practical defense strategies to strengthen their security posture.

🤖 Artificial Intelligence – Challenges and Opportunities Across Cyberspace

Speaker: Kristie Pfosi, Global CISO at Marelli

Kristie offered an expert CISO perspective on how AI is transforming cybersecurity—from new threat vectors to innovative defense capabilities. Attendees left with a clear view of the AI revolution in cyber.

11^th Annual ISACA Detroit Scholarship Contest Winners

We were proud to spotlight student teams from across Michigan in a high‑stakes cybersecurity challenge.

🥇 1st Place – $4,000

Team Neapolitan (Preston Duller, John‑Paul Marvin) – University of Detroit Mercy

Team Neapolitan delivered a standout forensic investigation of the simulated breach, showcasing clear evidence, structured methodology, and actionable recommendations. Congratulations on a stellar presentation!

🥈 2nd Place – $2,500

Team Zero Trust (Hannah Burdinie, Andrew Caswell) – University of Detroit Mercy
Team Rootkit Consulting (Ali Laho, Austin Bruce, Nate Paulik) – University of Detroit Mercy

🥉 3rd Place – $1,500

Team LoneWolf (Saurabh Chavan) – Lawrence Tech University
Team CyberOU 1 (William Eng, Ze Hao) – Oakland University
Team Risk Rangers (Nidhi Srivastava, Triet Tran) – Oakland University

🎁 Raffle Winners

Congratulations to our lucky raffle prize winners!

Shrimant Saxena – Humana
Nate Pauli – University of Detroit Mercy
Cydney Goldstein – Open to Opportunities
Matthew Locricchio – Greater Mentoring HQ
Cherice Caldwell‑Williams – DTE Energy
William Bowen – TACOM
Annie McGuire – Charles Schwab
Oleg Savka – The Physician Alliance
Austin Bruce – University of Detroit Mercy
Vasudevan Seshadri – Oakland University
Denise Browning – Little Caesars Enterprises
Michael Balatzis – Microsoft
Sheresse Thomas – Wayne State University
Jaydeep Vaidya – Synchrony
Erin Loeher – CrowdStrike
Zinabu Awudu – Kunz Leigh & Associates
Hari Sharma – Eastern Michigan University
Konnie Lin – Deloitte
Bala Balakrishnan – Independent Consultant
John‑Paul Marvin – University of Detroit Mercy

🙌 Thank You

Thank you to our amazing speakers, scholarship contestants, volunteers, and attendees for making this a successful and engaging event. We look forward to seeing you at our next Chapter Meeting!