Tag: SOC

RVAsec 15 Speaker Feature: Kyle Flaherty

May 1, 2026
Speaker

Empathy, Not Telepathy: How Embedded Engineering Teams Scale Cyber Response (<– add to your schedule)

The real issue of AI isn’t just the speed of the adversary, but the unprecedented noise they’ve created which makes finding the signal through traditional means nearly impossible. This talk explores how embedding engineers into the cyber lifecycle helps drown out the noise and empowers analysts to focus on high-leverage response at scale.

Kyle Flaherty:
Kyle is based out of Richmond and leads the Cyber Intelligence Engineering function at Capital One, where his teams work directly with Cyber Intelligence Analysts to empower them to respond at scale.

Kyle has spent 7 years at Capital One and has prior security work with the U.S. Navy and NSA. His interest in Cyber is rooted in service: a love for technology combined with a desire to serve, inspired by growing up in a military family. Kyle holds a degree in Computer Science from Wake Forest University.

Come see Kyle Flaherty at RVAsec 15!

RVAsec 15 Speaker Feature: Kim Mahan

April 29, 2026
Speaker

Alert Fatigue Is a Misdiagnosis (<– add to your schedule)

“Alert fatigue” is a misdiagnosis of a deeper problem: the cognitive decay of the human defender. This talk brings the receipts on how a high-consumption information diet hijacks the prefrontal cortex — and why the answer isn’t more automation, but rebuilding the creative muscle that makes humans worth keeping in the loop.

Kim Mahan:
Kim Mahan is the Founding Apprentice at MAXX Potential, a technology consulting firm whose “earn-while-you-learn” model has produced hundreds of engineers—including cybersecurity professionals—now at Capital One, AWS, Google and beyond. A CISSP and Six Sigma Black Belt with 20+ years in enterprise technology leadership at GE and Genworth Financial, Kim specializes in hacking the human element.

She is a contributing author of Lead With Empathy (with Chris Voss), where she coined “Operational Empathy”—the tactical art of building systems around what people actually need to succeed, rather than what credentialing systems say they should know. Her current work, Human Amplified, applies neuroscience to the “Information Diet,” framing passive consumption as a primary driver of cognitive atrophy and a critical vulnerability in the modern workforce. Previously named an “Innovator Changing the South” by Fast Company and Entrepreneur of the Year by NAWBO.

Come see Kim Mahan at RVAsec 15!

RVAsec 15 Speaker Feature: Chelsea Bryan

April 29, 2026
Speaker

Community is a Control: Strengthening Cybersecurity Through Connection (<– add to your schedule)

Strong cybersecurity programs are not built by tools alone. This session explores how trust, mentorship, and community can directly impact incident response effectiveness, analyst retention, and long term resilience within security teams.

Chelsea Bryan:
Chelsea Bryan is a Security Operations Analyst at Virginia Commonwealth University with four years of hands on experience supporting enterprise security operations in a complex higher education environment. She works daily with SIEM platforms, endpoint detection and response tools, and network monitoring systems to triage alerts, investigate suspicious activity, respond to phishing and malware incidents, and contribute to continuous improvement of detection and response processes. In addition to her operational responsibilities, Chelsea is deeply committed to mentoring aspiring cybersecurity professionals and career changers who are working to break into the field. She provides practical guidance on building foundational knowledge, and navigating early career growth. She believes strong security teams are built through consistency, collaboration, and investing in people, and she is passionate about helping the next generation of analysts build confidence and capability in cybersecurity.

Come see Chelsea Bryan at RVAsec 15!