One order of zero-proof cybersecurity networking events on the rocks, coming up!

Two years ago, such an event may have been hard to find. However, Sober in Cyber (SIC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing alcohol-free networking events to the cybersecurity community, is looking to fill that gap.

Since 2023, SIC has hosted several alcohol-free industry networking events, from sober paint and sips to mindful breakfast gatherings. Jennifer VanAntwerp, founder of SIC, told IT Brew that the events—which often coincide with large conferences such as DEF CON and Black Hat—have attracted a wide range of attendees.

“It’s some people who are sober or alcohol-free and then some people are just doing dry January, or they’re going to be in Vegas for multiple conferences for the full week and they are worn out from all of the parties and they just want to go somewhere where they can connect with other folks,” she said.

VanAntwerp, who has been sober for more than two decades, told IT Brew that she got the idea for SIC after observing a lack of networking events in an alcohol-free environment.

“I wanted to give people an opportunity to engage in all of that networking and [build] those professional connections with zero pressure to drink,” VanAntwerp said.

Read the rest here.—BM

The marketing team at Chuck E. Cheese had an idea: They wanted to place laptops on the counters so people could come in and book birthday parties right in the facility.

But even adding one Chromebook changes CEC Entertainment’s security picture, and gets Chief Information Security Officer Nathan Hunstable thinking what he usually does when someone wants to introduce a new game card, tablet, or video-capturing wireless device: Let’s slow down a bit.

“Giving people a computer where they’re typing their information in and they’re putting in credit card data” changes the company’s obligations to industry standards like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), Hunstable told us.

As CISO since July 2024, Hunstable has to be a bit of a “downer”—not exactly ruining everyone’s good time in the ballpit, just making sure everyone walks, not runs, through the arcade of possibilities. Hunstable must consider the serious security stakes in a place that also includes trampolines and a giant mouse.

“I’m stuck in the middle of one side of the company’s thought process of ‘innovate,’ and ‘push the boundaries’ and ‘get it out there as fast as possible.’ And then there’s the CISO side where I have to say, ‘Alright, we can do all that, but understand all these risks…Let’s slow down,’” Hunstable told us.

Read more here.—BH

The federal government’s new chief information officer has a background in machine learning and hails from Peter Thiel’s Palantir.

Two people familiar with the staffing change told Nextgov/FCW that Gregory Barbaccia, a 10-year Palantir alum who until recently helmed security at machine learning-powered asset manager Theorem, arrived for work in the CIO role on Jan. 27. According to Nextgov/FCW, Barbaccia also has a background in US Army and federal intelligence work, but hasn’t worked for the government since 2009.

News of the appointment first appeared via Barbaccia’s LinkedIn page, according to the Federal News Network. The White House did not immediately return IT Brew’s request for comment.

The federal CIO is part of the Office of Management and Budget; unlike many senior government positions, the CIO does not require confirmation by the Senate. Barbaccia is the replacement for Clare Martorana, who announced last year that as a political appointee she would be leaving the government alongside the Biden administration.

“Continue to focus on cybersecurity—it is absolutely essential,” Martorana told MeriTalk in November 2024 with her potential successor in mind. “The threat landscape is extraordinary, and we have to keep focused. We can’t take our eye off the ball on cybersecurity.”

Keep reading here.—TM