Description:
Cybercriminals today are more advanced than ever, and they’re no longer just stealing data—they’re bringing businesses to a standstill. Imagine your supply chain frozen, production halted, and customers unable to access services. This is happening now. But instead of just playing defense, what if you could think like the criminals themselves and stop them before they attack?
We are losing badly to cybercriminals. If we want to protect our companies and, honestly, our digital driven business growth, we need a shift. In this session, we’ll show you how to adopt a cybercriminal’s mindset to proactively defend your business.
We’ll leverage our research to show how today’s cyberattacks are very similar to an Ocean’s 11 heist. We will analyze real-world attacks like the one on a supply chain company where hackers didn’t just steal data—they disrupted the entire supply chain, causing millions in losses. We’ll also examine a cybersecurity product firm, where a software update error led to widespread system crashes across their customer base. Finally, we will look at an incident where a regulatory agency got breached and how a hacker’s action on the regulator's social channels impacted global financial markets. These examples will highlight a critical shift: criminals are no longer just targeting data; they are shutting down core business operations, and their approach resembles the Ocean’s 11 heist.
The basic premise is that criminals understand your business, and you can’t protect what you don’t understand. The journey to beat cybercriminals isn’t just about technology—it starts by learning about your business, what it values, and how it operates. We will walk through specifics on the frameworks and data-driven insights security teams need to create context for effective collaboration between the CFO, Risk, Legal, and CISO teams. Simply knowing each other and holding meetings is not enough! You need a structured framework and actionable data to drive risk-based discussions and informed decisions aligned with business priorities.
By the end of this session, attendees will leave with a clear, actionable plan on how to think like a criminal and build a security program to protect and defend your business. Cybercriminals are constantly evolving, and the old ways of defending just aren’t enough anymore. This session will help attendees shift from defense to offense, using the attacker’s own strategies against them. Attendees will leave with tangible steps they can apply immediately to make their business too difficult, too costly, and too well-protected for cyber criminals to breach.
Speaker Bio:
With over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity and risk management, Vishal Chawla has helped some of the world’s largest organizations protect their most critical assets. As the Founder and CEO of BluOcean Cyber, Vishal’s guiding principle is simple: to truly protect your business, you have to think like a criminal. This mindset has made him a trusted advisor to executives and boards tackling today’s most complex cybersecurity challenges. At BluOcean, Vishal is spearheading the development of Risk GPS, an innovative tool that helps businesses prioritize cybersecurity investments and quantify risk in alignment with business objectives. Risk GPS enables smarter, risk-informed decisions, transforming cybersecurity from a cost center into a strategic asset. BluOcean is also addressing one of the industry’s biggest gaps with its focus on SaaS security, helping organizations secure platforms like Salesforce, Microsoft 365, and Okta through SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM).
Earlier in his career at Deloitte, Vishal pioneered the Risk Catalog, an integrated system for managing risk and compliance, helping global clients streamline risk management across key indicators and third-party vendors. At PwC, he led the Cybersecurity and Privacy Practice for emerging technologies like cloud and AI, positioning PwC as a leader in securing next-gen platforms. At Grant Thornton, Vishal built the firm’s US and Global Cybersecurity Practice, transforming the Risk Advisory division into a business-aligned, technology-driven powerhouse.
Throughout his career, Vishal has guided Fortune 100 companies like Deutsche Bank and Citibank through post-breach remediation and strategic risk reduction. His hands-on approach has made him a sought-after expert, helping organizations turn cybersecurity into a business enabler.
Vishal’s thought leadership has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, MIT Review, RMA Journal, NACD Directors, and Compliance Week. He regularly shares insights through his blogs at bluoceancyber.com, offering practical advice for building trust and resilience in today’s digital economy.
As a speaker, Vishal delivers thought-provoking, actionable insights on how businesses can navigate emerging threats from cyber criminals, secure their AI and SaaS environments, and maximize the value of their cybersecurity investments. He combines visionary thinking with real-world solutions, making him a compelling choice for any cybersecurity-focused event.