Recorded on May 1, 2025, at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, this special Cyber Focus episode brings together government, industry, and policy leaders for an insider look at the key takeaways from the biggest cybersecurity event of the year. Frank Cilluffo sits down with David Colberg, a longtime RSA leader and architect of the conference’s policy programming, to discuss how RSAC is shaping global cyber dialogue. Then a panel of McCrary Institute Senior Fellows — Katherine Hennessey, Matt Hayden, Alison King, and Bob Kolasky — joins the conversation to reflect on major themes, from agentic AI and offensive cyber to global cooperation and the CISA reorganization. Designed for Washington’s cyber policy community, this episode delivers a timely snapshot of the conversations driving national and international cybersecurity strategy.

• Rising government and policy engagement at RSAC, anchored by the International Cybersecurity Forum
• Secretary Noem’s keynote and the evolving vision for CISA under the new administration
• Agentic AI’s role in shaping both cybersecurity and broader national security operations
• International collaboration, including Australia’s regional outreach and GCHQ’s first public keynote
• Offensive cyber strategy, red lines, and the Volt Typhoon threat from China
• Scaling cyber defense through DARPA’s AI Cyber Challenge and emerging automation tools
• Workforce, collaboration, and renewed focus on federal cybersecurity priorities

“We want government folks to be part of that community and to come out and speak and have opportunities to have valuable conversations which drive action.” — David Colberg “Cybersecurity is national security against what could be an existential threat from China.” — Bob Kolasky “We heard references that you’re going to start onboarding [AI] bots in the same way you would employees. CISOs better get good on their AI bot HR.” — Matt Hayden “The way we look at the data and how we use [AI and] the data to solve our cybersecurity challenges, but also our other physical world challenges, I think is a really fascinating place to be.” — Katherine Hennessey “I always think of AI… as augmented intelligence. It’s a tool that has to be used responsibly, and you have to have ethics attached to it.” — Alison King “Technology, whatever it is, it will change. Human nature doesn’t. And if we’re going to defeat the bad guys… it takes networks to defeat [them].” — Frank Cilluffo

• RSA Conference: https://www.rsaconference.com
• DARPA AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC): https://aicyberchallenge.com
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): https://www.cisa.gov
• McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security: https://mccraryinstitute.com

David Colberg is an advisor to RSA and has led the development of the conference’s government and policy programming for over a decade. He helped launch the International Cybersecurity Forum at RSAC and plays a key role in building connections between public and private sector leaders. Katherine Hennessey, Matt Hayden, Alison King, and Bob Kolasky are Senior Fellows at the McCrary Institute, each bringing deep expertise from across government and industry in cyber strategy, national security, and public-private collaboration.