Cyber Civil Defense Summit: West 2026

Co-hosted by the Arizona Department of Homeland Security (AZDOHS), the Cyber Civil Defense Summit: West will bring together a community of cyber defenders, academics, and policymakers with a shared mission to protect our most vulnerable public infrastructure against cybersecurity threats. This in-person event features exclusive keynotes and panels with government and industry leaders in cybersecurity, creating an intimate space for cross-sector conversations among academics, volunteers, and policymakers on how we can work together to protect vulnerable community organizations such as hospitals, cities, school districts, and nonprofits. The Summit will feature keynotes, panels, and practical workshop-style discussions focused on the regional approaches to community cyber defense, including: The role of states in coordinating networks of cyber support; Regional security operations centers (SOCs) and how to fund and sustain them; Sector-based shared cyber services for water, energy, healthcare, and other critical infrastructure; State and civilian cyber corps and volunteer integration models; Cyber workforce development pipelines that can be built and sustained locally; Information sharing frameworks that actually get used at the community level. Participants will leave with replicable models, new regional relationships, and a clearer picture of how Western states can strengthen collective defense for vulnerable community infrastructure.