MAX Cybersecurity: Mastering the Art of Attack and Defense

Date: Friday, October 3, 2024

Start Time: 5:30 pm

Location: Fasken Office - 333 Bay St, Toronto, ON M5H 2R2

Sponsored Venue: We’re excited to host this event at the Fasken office, a generous contribution from Fasken, supporting their commitment to fostering excellence in the cybersecurity field.

Join us for the MAX Cybersecurity: Mastering the Art of Attack and Defense, an event that brings together leading experts in the field to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of cybersecurity. This panel is designed to provide you with an in-depth understanding of what it takes to safeguard organizations in today's digital age.

Moderator:

• Daanish Samadmoten - Partner at Fasken for Cybersecurity

Keynote Speaker:

• Arif Hameed - Chief Information Security Officer, C&R Software

Speakers:

• Maryam Jafari Lafti - Director, Accenture
• Junior Williams - Senior Solutions Architect, Mobia
• Abdullah Alagha - Partner, Cloud Security & AI, EY
• Trish Villanueva - Global Head, Fraud Threat Management, Scotiabank

• Osman Saleem - Managing Director at Actimeta

Workshop:

• Arafat Afzalzada - Founder, Stingrai
• Abbas Rajabpour – Senior Penetration Tester, Stingrai.io

What to Expect:

Networking OpportunitiesIn line with MAX’s mission to empower and connect professionals, attendees will have the chance to engage with top cybersecurity executives and peers across industries. Build relationships, share challenges, and broaden your perspective on the role of cybersecurity in diverse sectors.

Insightful DiscussionsHear directly from defense experts as they explore their daily roles, the latest threat trends, and the strategies they employ to secure their organizations. Gain valuable knowledge that can be applied to strengthen your own practices.

Offensive & Defensive PerspectivesBeyond theory, this event includes offensive security workshops that demonstrate how a single overlooked weakness can have devastating consequences. By pairing defense insights with offensive examples, attendees will better understand both sides of the cybersecurity battlefield.

The Necessity of CybersecurityPanelists will underscore why cybersecurity is not just a technical necessity but a core business strategy. Real-world examples will highlight the critical consequences of breaches and the importance of cultivating a security-first culture.

Diverse Industry InsightsWith speakers representing fields such as legal, finance, and healthcare, you’ll hear about the distinct challenges each sector faces — and the innovative approaches leaders are taking to safeguard their organizations.

Muslim Achieving Excellence (MAX) was founded with the aim to recognize, reward, celebrate and motivate high achievement and encourage positive and productive contributions to society by Muslims in Canada. MAX fosters that through creating connections between senior level, mid level and early career professionals.

THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW SOME OF CANADA'S TOP LEADERS. DINNER WILL BE SERVED.

For any attendees who may have financial needs and require a sponsored complimentary ticket, or for any questions or comments please contact:

Hunain Amir | Co-Lead, Cybersecurity Series | aHVuYWluICEgYW1pciB8IG9uZW1heCAhIG9yZw==

Safwan Alam | Co-Lead, Cyber Security Series | c2Fmd2FuICEgYWxhbSB8IG9uZW1heCAhIG9yZw==

Website: onemax.org | LinkedIn: MAX | Twitter: @max_gala | Instagram: @max.gala

ALL TICKET SALES ARE FINAL

Daanish Samadmoten - Partner at Fasken LLP

Daanish Samadmoten is a Partner in Fasken’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Group. Daanish frequently advises clients on various privacy and cybersecurity matters by providing practical and strategic advice in respect of data breach incidents, privacy compliance, and privacy litigation.

Daanish has assisted numerous clients in addressing privacy and cybersecurity incidents, including by advising clients about their legal obligations and litigation risks, reporting to privacy regulators, working with forensic and data management experts, and drafting external communications.

Daanish is a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM). Daanish was recognized in 2022 as One to Watch in Privacy and Data Security Law by Best Lawyers, in 2024 as a Stand-out Lawyer by Thomson Reuters, in 2024 for Data Protection & Privacy by Lexpert, and in 2024 as a Future Star by Benchmark Litigation.

Arif Hameed - Chief Information Security Officer, C&R Software

Arif Hameed is a seasoned and award-winning Cybersecurity Leader with 25 years of technology experience. He is a two-time Chief Information Security Officer and has had roles in Security Advisory, IT Risk, Client Assurance and IT Audit in the Banking, Insurance, Technology and Data Analytics verticals. He actively volunteers for professional associations including ISACA, Cloud Security Alliance, and participates in advisory committees for academic programs in Cybersecurity. He also has presented, moderated and took part in panels for information security events including the RSA Conference, InfoSec World, SecureWorld, ISMG, etc. He holds the CISSP, CISA, CRISC and GSTRT certifications.

Maryam Jafari Lafti - Director, Accenture

Maryam is a Director at Accenture Canada, where she leads the Data & AI Security practice and serves as the national lead for the Cyber Intelligence practice. With more than 15 years of experience in cybersecurity consulting, she brings expertise across security research, product development, threat intelligence, and managed security services.

Maryam has built and led cyber intelligence practices at both national and regional levels, advising organizations across industries on strategy, risk management, and intelligence-led security. She has extensive experience in developing and delivering cyber threat intelligence capabilities and in overseeing the delivery of managed security services for diverse clients.

As part of Accenture’s global leadership team, Maryam works to advance innovative approaches to cyber threat intelligence and AI-driven security, shaping roadmaps for organizations seeking to strengthen their resilience against evolving threats. Her background also includes applied research in user-centric privacy protection and decentralized identity management solutions.

Maryam holds a Ph.D. and M.Eng. in Computer Science and Engineering, alongside multiple certifications including CISSP and CCSK. She is fluent in English, Farsi, and Arabic.

Abdullah Alagha - Partner, Cloud Security & AI, EY

Abdullah Alagha is a partner in EY’s Cyber practice. Abdullah started his journey in the field 17 years ago as a field data networking and security engineer, designing, implementing and testing security solutions and services to protect small to large enterprises, he then figured it’s pivotal to work in the industry and served around 8 years in financial services before going back to consulting and solution integration.

Abdullah holds a US registered patent in Cybersecurity, and various industry and academic credentials. He is passionate about the intersection between industry, professional services and academia, for that, he puts efforts toward research and community development, he speaks are conferences, and been an adjunct professor at University of Toronto teaching cybersecurity strategy and cyber risk management.

Abdullah’s areas of focus and expertise include - [Secure AI] - AI Security Strategy, Design and Validation.

- [AI in Security] - Usecase identification, qualification, development and testing.

- Software Supply Chain Security Risk Management.

- Secure Transformation and Operating Models in the Cloud

- Azure, AWS and GCP Cloud Security Architecture Design and Delivery

- True DevSecOps Realization & CI/CD Frictionless Security

Trish Villanueva - Global Head, Fraud Threat Management, Scotiabank

Trish Villanueva is the current Global Head of Fraud Threat Response for Scotiabank. She has worked in cybersecurity for over 10 years and just recently transitioned to fraud where she is responsible for cyber-fraud and fraud incident management. She is passionate about community engagement and cyber education and is currently an instructor at York University’s School of Continuing Education.

Working her way from SOC analyst to trusted professional, Trish has built 6 Security Operations Centres in 4 continents around the world and responded to some of the largest breaches in North America, including work with law enforcement and government agencies. She is most excited to work in the globalization and operationalization of cyber-fraud investigations and incident and emergency response management practices.

Junior Williams - Senior Solutions Architect, Mobia

Junior Williams is a technology consultant who advises enterprise and public sector organizations on securely adopting emerging technologies, scoping solutions, and preparing Statements of Work. As a Senior Solutions Architect at Mobia, he supports clients in meeting compliance with ISO/IEC 42001 and ISO/IEC 27001 while aligning security and innovation objectives. Beyond his consulting and architecture work, Junior is an independent AI researcher whose papers—Defining Williams’ Law: The Power of Algorithmic Innovation and Think Smarter, Not Harder: Algorithmic Innovation as the Key to Exponential AI Performance—propose new models for AI scalability. He serves on the NSERC CREATE Industry Advisory Board at Dalhousie University, speaks at leading conferences such as SecTor, guest lectures on generative AI and cybersecurity, and has been featured on CBC Radio and in the Financial Post for his expertise in cybersecurity and secure system design, contributing thought leadership on ethical AI and human–AI collaboration

Osman Saleem - Managing Director at Actimeta

Osman is the Managing Director at Actimeta, a consulting firm specializing in operational technology and cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, smart buildings and smart cities. Osman has held leadership roles with service providers and assets owners in OT cybersecurity, digital transformation, and program management across various industry sectors such as real estate, critical infrastructure, healthcare, technology, life sciences, aviation, mining, the public sector and manufacturing. He has also contributed to industry standards and frameworks, including CSA’s ICT Code for Buildings, CSA’s Building Intelligence Code, WiredScore, and SPIRE

Arafat Afzalzada - Founder, Stingrai

Arafat Afzalzada is the Founder and CEO of Stingrai, a Toronto-based offensive cybersecurity company revolutionizing the way organizations approach penetration testing and adversary simulation. With over a decade of experience, he has held roles in System Administration, DevSecOps, Security Engineering, and Penetration Testing at organizations including the City of Toronto, General Motors, and Richter before founding Stingrai.

Arafat holds CISSP and PCNSE certifications and leads a team of highly skilled white-hat hackers, delivering offensive security services to clients across finance, healthcare, and the public sector through Stingrai’s in-house built Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) platform. Passionate about knowledge sharing and community building, he has presented at the ISACA Toronto Chapter, is an active member of Peerscale community, and serves as a team lead for the MAX Tech and Analytics Circles Cohort.

Abbas Rajabpour – Senior Penetration Tester, Stingrai.io

Abbas Rajabpour is a Senior Penetration Tester at Stingrai, a Toronto-based offensive cybersecurity company redefining penetration testing and adversary simulation. With extensive experience in red teaming and offensive security, he has delivered penetration tests and simulated advanced persistent threats for organizations across aviation, education, and technology.

Abbas holds advanced certifications including CRTP, eWPTX, eCPPT, and MCRTA, and brings deep expertise in operating systems, networking, cloud security (AWS, Azure), and industry-standard tools such as Burp Suite, Metasploit, and Cobalt Strike. Passionate about continuous learning and knowledge sharing, he plays a key role in helping clients strengthen their defenses against modern cyber threats.

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