Big Sky Cyber Summit 2026
I had such an amazing time at the inaugural Big Sky Cyber Summit! On May 28, the day started bright and early. Here’s Natalie and Derek, welcoming guests at LMG World Headquarters in Missoula. Natalie leads our events team & was prepping for months for this big day!
I heart my Montana State Bank Auditors! From the left, Thain Bodily, Dane Scofield, and the venerable (and retired) Mike Wright.
The room was packed for Deviant Ollam’s awesome keynote!
Three of my favorite speakers! Joe Frolich of CISA, Jonathan Neff (CISO at University of Montana), and of course our keynote speaker, Deviant Ollam:
Jonathan gave an AWESOME talk on “Ghost Students: How Fraud Rings Exploit Federal Systems and What Every Security Team Can Learn”
Joe Frohlich gave us a “behind-the-scenes” peek at how CISA operates, including services that can help Montana’s critical infrastructure.
Derek and Maggie (LMG team members) were both instrumental in making the day a success!
Justin Jones’ talk was one of the highlights of my day! I had never seen him speak before, and he provided experienced insights based on his transition from “keyboard warrior” to leading the security team at D.A. Davidson.
Vic Valgenti from the University of Montana shares the results of their team’s research regarding the efficacy of tabletop exercises that they studied. Very interesting to see the “meta-analysis” and learn tips for getting the best ROI from your exercises.
Finally, I got to see Tom Pohl’s new talk in person! He kept the room riveted with the story of how he discovered a 0-day vulnerability on a city’s water management system… while conducting a routine penetration test. Over two years, he worked with the vendor to provide information, identify affected customers, and help shed light on this critical issue so it gets fixed.
Importantly, we had lots of cool ribbons! Everyone this year got a “First Time Attendee” ribbon since it was our very first Big Sky Cyber Summit!
When all the talks had wrapped up, we relaxed and enjoyed the gorgeous views during Happy Hour & Lockpicking at the top of the First Interstate Bank building. Many thanks to our sponsor, Blackfoot Communications!
Delaney Moore, one of LMG’s senior consultants, shmoozes with Kyle Rholl of Clearwater Credit Union.
Yes, this is Deviant handcuffing our guests! He ran a competition based on the movie Hackers. Can you toss the floppy disk into the garbage can while cuffed, just like in the movie? If so, you could win one of Deviant’s cool lockpicking prizes!
Here’s Delaney from our team, about to give it a shot!
The day ended with a fun LMG team dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in downtown Missoula!
Overall, it was a super successful day! I feel so lucky to work with this amazing LMG crew, and to have a thriving security community here in Montana. That’s a wrap, can’t wait to run Big Sky Cyber Summit again next year!
About the Author
Sherri Davidoff
Sherri Davidoff is the Founder of LMG Security and the author of three books, including “Ransomware and Cyber Extortion” and “Data Breaches: Crisis and Opportunity.” As a recognized expert in cybersecurity, she has been called a “security badass” by the New York Times. Sherri is a regular instructor at the renowned Black Hat trainings and a faculty member at the Pacific Coast Banking School. She is also the co-author of Network Forensics: Tracking Hackers Through Cyberspace (Prentice Hall, 2012), and has been featured as the protagonist in the book, Breaking and Entering: The Extraordinary Story of a Hacker Called “Alien.” Sherri is a GIAC-certified forensic examiner (GCFA) and penetration tester (GPEN) and received her degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT.
