Forge Institute

Tom Flak of Forge Institute, along with Randy Rose, VP Operations Intelligence, CIS, and Megan Incerto, Regional Engagement Manager, CIS, presented a session at the Arkansas Regional Cyber Partners Meeting hosted by AML (Arkansas Municipal League). This session covered threats within the election environment and the evolving landscape of AI Deep-Fakes. Presenters shared an overview of prevalent threats facing organizations involved in electoral processes and offered recommendations on mitigating these risks to enhance security postures. The discussion moved on to AI Deep-Fakes, highlighting current use cases, potential risks, and strategies for mitigating their impact on organizations. Thank you to the AML for inviting us to participate.

NWA Tech Summit is taking place this week in Bentonville. Two of our Forge Fellows volunteered to work to support the event. Thanks Jacob Poulliot and Brady B. for helping make things run smoothly! Great sessions on encouraging innovation and using A.I. in the workplace. One more day of keynotes and breakout sessions! #forgeinstitute #UofA #nwatechsummit

Always love visiting with students to tell them about our Embers Xceletator program. The next class starts January 28. Thanks UA Little Rock for sponsoring 2024 Nerd Night! #forgeinstitute #nerdnight #embersxcelerator

We are excited to be recognized by the Office of the National Cyber Director, The White House for our work in #cybersecurity #workforcedevelopment - along with Mattermost, CyberVets.org, George Mason University, Metro State University, National Cryptologic Foundation, CyManII | Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute, IBM, and many more! We are proud to work with so many great state and regional insitituions like the University of Arkansas and others to expand pathways for the cyber pipeline. Forge Institute's #ForgeAcademy training is focused on participants gaining qualification not just certification - it's a skills-based approached as called out in the #ONCD release: "In short, we need a skills-based hiring approach. Practically speaking, this means removing degree requirements and instead focusing on the specific skills or competencies a job candidate needs to be able to fill a role, then assessing applicants based on their ability to meet these needs, regardless of where they learned their skills." Thank you to Seeyew Mo and the entire ONCD team for recognizing our work and highlighting it at a national level. https://lnkd.in/gKpteUjb cc: Tina Moore, Ed.D., Rob Ator Hugh McDonald Jen Easterly Office of U.S. Senator John Boozman J. French Hill Rick Crawford Mark Cheng Terry Burruss H. Beth Anne Bygum, MSLM, CBCP, CCRP Harry Coker Paul Montrose CISSP, CISA, CISM, CGEIT, CRISC Eric Wall, CISSP, CISM Matt Bunch Devin Shirley, CCISO, CISSP, CRISC, CEH Adam Holland Phil Clark Elizabeth Parker, PhD, MPH Joe Wilson, Maj Gen (Ret) USAF Gary S. Barbara Stevens, NACD.DC Chad Bridges Jonathan Stubbs Nicholas Lynch, PMP Public Affairs Little Rock AFB National Guard Professional Education Center National Guard Association of Arkansas, Inc. Little Rock Regional Chamber Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas

How hard is it to make a Deepfake? Thanks to @UALR, we were able to put this question to the test using a free open-source GitHub project and a computer donated by @UALR! In the short time we had, we created something pretty convincing (at least at a glance) deepfakes. With top-of-the-line equipment and more time, the deepfake would have little to no latency and be much smoother. This shows just how easy it is for anyone to create deepfakes that could trick even the most discerning eye. Below is our Marketing Manager with the Anne Hathaway deepfake. Pretty close! #forgeinstitute #ualr #deepfake #cybersecurity

We wanted to share a few pictures from the amazing Arkansas Cyber Summit that was held last week at the Statehouse Convention Center. Thanks again to all of our speakers, sponsors, and attendees. We have already set the date for next year! September 17 & 18, 2025 Register here for Arkansas Cyber Summit 2025: https://lnkd.in/gpS-WTTP

Join us online at 1 PM on Thursday, October 24 to learn how to effectively discuss and recommend cyber insurance policies in an age of escalating digital threats. In this live online session, gain valuable insights into best practices for cybersecurity that you can share with your small business customers, such as: Strategies for navigating cyber policy discussions with small businesses Essential cybersecurity best practices every business should adopt How to utilize the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center's cyber assessment services to add value for your clients Speakers: Ivan Hudson, UCA Center for Insurance and Risk Management Tom Flak and Tanner Summerlin, Forge Institute Register at: https://hubs.la/Q02TS95c0

Congratulations to our Forge Summit raffle winners, Mike Yates and Michael Acord! It was a pleasure connecting with you both and meeting so many talented IT and cybersecurity professionals. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the event a success!

We are set up and ready! Come see us at the Little Rock Regional Chamber Serve the Rock event at Dickey Stephens Park from 5 to 7 pm.