Everyone understands the importance of cyber security these days – after all the high-profile hacks of Target, Sony, and hospitals and city governments over the last few years – but should it be a top priority for cannabis businesses when they have so many other things to worry about, including adapting their business to the coronavirus?

In their virtual panel at the 2020 National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) Business Cyber Summit, “Data Security Plans to Secure Business Longevity,” March Networks’ Chris Jensen, Perkins Coie’s Michael Sussman, and GeekTek’s own CEO Eric Schlissel will explain why cannabis businesses should focus on cyber security even with so many other things going on.

In fact, they’ll argue that cyber security is more important than ever, since a single hack can bring down your business; remote work due to the coronavirus increases the attack surface of your network; and with businesses expanding and the industry maturing, cannabis firms need to get their security fundamentals correct now while they’re still relatively small, since it’s easier to get things right the first time than have to fix everything a couple years down the line.

The panel will cover:

• The top ways to protect your business

• Security advantages and disadvantages of the cloud and MFA

• Why you don’t necessarily have to be the most secure business in the world, just more secure than the average business

• How to teach your employees to follow security best practices – and why no one, including business owners, should be exempt

• Why security has to be an ongoing, comprehensive effort, involving employees, execs, and vendors

• The #1 thing you can do right now to increase your security

If you’ve seen Eric present about security at past cannabis events, there will still be a lot of new things to learn from this panel, including getting Eric’s thoughts on the effects of recent cannabis legalization propositions passing in Arizona, New Jersey, and other states, and how cannabis and remote work influences IT security.

In addition, this is his first time presenting with Mr. Sussman, who has been involved in investigating and preventing cyber attacks at a high level for over 20 years, including stints at the Department of Justice and in the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign’s response to Russian hacking efforts, and has many interesting insights to share.

The event has been pre-recorded – however, all three panelists including Eric will be available to answer questions in the chat throughout the live premier.

Registering will also give you access to nearly 100 other sessions on how to run and scale your cannabis business in these unique times. If you miss the livestreams, you’ll still be able to watch all of the different sessions for 30 days after the event.

Event Details

Event Name: NCIA Cannabis Business Cyber Summit 2020
Session Name: “Data Security Plans to Secure Business Longevity”
Date: November 12, 2020
Time: 12:00PM – 12:45PM PST
Register Now: https://cannabisbusinesssummit.com/attend/registration/

Speaker Info

Chris Jensen

Chris Jensen is March Networks’ Cannabis Market Manager, responsible for cannabis business development across North America. Chris has over a decade of experience in the security industry, with a special focus on the cannabis market. Prior to March Networks, Chris served as an account manager for Envysion, and was Director of Sales for Canna Security America, which played a role in developing the cannabis security regulations and enforcement rules in Colorado.

He also assisted in advocating for a regulatory framework for outdoor cannabis grow facilities in Washington State and beyond. Chris has a B.A. in Business Administration from Adams State College in Colorado.

Eric Schlissel

Eric Schlissel is the CEO and CTO of GeekTek, an award-winning and internationally recognized IT and security firm that services the cannabis industry throughout the US and Canada. GeekTek provides IT and security services that allow cannabis businesses to scale with technology. Eric incorporates his business and technology experience with an entrepreneurial background from creating multiple cannabis startups helping them throughout the seed-to-sale process.

He has been widely published and quoted in The LA Times, Wired, CIO Magazine, ChannelPro, InformationWeek, InfoWorld, the CCIA, NACB Insights and other leading publications.

Michael Sussman

Michael Sussmann, formerly with the U.S. Department of Justice, is a nationally-recognized privacy, cybersecurity and national security attorney. He is engaged on some of the most sophisticated, high-stakes matters today, such as his representation of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in their responses to Russian hacking in the 2016 presidential election. Michael regularly conducts extensive corporate privacy and cybersecurity reviews and represents Fortune 100 companies before the FTC, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), state attorneys general and congressional committees.

He is a former cybercrime prosecutor who assists many of the world’s biggest companies in their responses to sophisticated network intrusions. Michael advises phone companies, email and wireless providers, and social networks on privacy, security and all aspects of regulatory compliance.

Resources

Free stuff!

• One hour security consultation – Two attendees will be randomly selected for one hour sessions. Questionnaire will be sent prior to meeting

• Internet and phone bill audit – We’ll see if there are savings opportunities

• Sophos security for PCs, iPhone and Android

Homework (aka actionable items you can do right now)

• Walk through your house, see what’s on your network
  • Unplug unused devices
  • Make sure all endpoints are secured

• Set up additional password security
  • Install LastPass or another password manager
  • Log into frequently used sites, enable 2 factor authentication
  • Run password checking utility
  • Install an authenticator app, such as Authy

• Patch all the things!
  • Set all PCs, Macs, phones, etc. to auto-update

• Protect your data
  • Use backup tools such as OneDrive, Google Backup & Sync and Backblaze

• Educate
  • External tagging for Microsoft o365 and Google
  • SANS Resources
  • NIST Resources