ManuSec USA to Tackle OT Security Fundamentals Amid Rising Manufacturing Threats
The Annual Chicago Summit to Convene More Than 150 Security Leaders for Two Days of OT Strategy and Case Studies
Princeton, NJ – As ransomware attacks increasingly bring factory floors to a standstill, QG Media, an ISMG company, is set to host the annual ManuSec USA summit on Oct. 21 and 22. The event will bring together senior security leaders, plant managers and executives from sectors including aerospace, defense, automotive, food and beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, and metal manufacturing.
Centered on the theme “Solidifying OT Security Fundamentals While Building Next-Gen Cyber Resilience,” this year’s program bridges foundational cyber hygiene with advanced, autonomous defense strategies.
Manufacturing remains the world’s most targeted industry for cyberattacks: organizations worldwide faced 1,466 ransomware incidents in 2025, up 56% from 937 the previous year, accounting for roughly half of all global ransomware activity, according to Check Point’s Manufacturing Threat Landscape 2025 report. The United States recorded the highest number of these incidents of any country, with 713 cases.
“Manufacturers are being asked to defend converged IT and OT environments where a single intrusion can halt production lines, disrupt suppliers and put physical safety at risk, all while legacy systems and thin security teams limit what they can realistically do,” said Kudsia Kaker, managing director at QG Media. “ManuSec USA exists to address that risk. It gives plant-level and boardroom leaders a shared, practical playbook for hardening the fundamentals while building toward the next generation of resilience.”
The summit will open on day one with the chairman’s opening address from Ed Harris, CISO at Mauser Packaging Solutions, followed by a government keynote “Tackling the Key Risks US Manufacturers Face” from Jenny Margaros, section chief for the critical manufacturing sector at CISA. She will explore the challenges and realities of securing converged IT/OT environments amid legacy system risk, as well as share how CISA guidance, intelligence sharing and public-private collaboration can help strengthen industrywide resilience and response.
A panel on preparing OT response teams for an active attack follows, then the agenda will split into two tracks: one chaired by Harris on governance and compliance road maps, the other chaired by Christian Harter, business information security officer OT and director of OT security and engineering at UPS, on building OT security controls from asset visibility to anomaly detection.
In his presentation titled “Road Map for Aligning IT/OT Governance With Evolving Global Regulatory Mandates,” Antonio Crespo, Americas CISO at Arkema, will share how his organization aligned plant road maps with EPA, CISA and NIS2 mandates while embedding compliance into governance and capital planning.
On day two, in the session titled “How We Built a Comprehensive OT Strategy From Scratch,” Kristie Boskey Pfosi, CISO at Marelli, will detail how her team built a comprehensive OT strategy from the ground up, including audits and artificial intelligence.
Additional sessions will address supply chain risk, board-level metrics and quantum era threats.
By connecting practitioners across America’s manufacturing base, ManuSec USA aims to deliver a clear road map for mitigating financial risk, satisfying underwriting requirements and defending operations against evolving threats.
For the full agenda and registration, visit the ManuSec USA web page.
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About ISMG
Information Security Media Group (ISMG) is the world’s largest media organization devoted solely to cybersecurity, information technology, artificial intelligence and operational technology. Each of our 38 media properties provides education, research and news that is specifically tailored to key vertical sectors including banking, healthcare and the public sector; geographies from North America to Southeast Asia; and topics such as data breach prevention, cyber risk assessment, OT security, AI and fraud. Our annual global summit series connects senior security professionals with industry thought leaders to find actionable solutions for pressing cybersecurity challenges.
About QG Media
QG Media is an international provider of cutting-edge B2B conferences and digital content for technology leaders. Focusing on cybersecurity and IoT, QG brings together business leaders to demonstrate thought leadership through content-driven presentations, interviews and webinars. The success of any QG Media event lies in providing expertly curated programs, inviting industry-leading speakers, along with offering extensive networking opportunities to promote collaboration and drive innovation.
About ISMG Events
ISMG Events is a premier platform for security professionals and practitioners worldwide. Our global, annual events bring together the ISMG Events Community, comprising over 40,000 members, to exchange knowledge, insights and best practices in the field of cybersecurity. The cornerstone of our event portfolio is the ISMG Global Summit Series. These summits take place both virtually and in-person, offering participants a diverse range of topics to explore. In addition to our Global Summit Series, ISMG Events hosts exclusive Executive Roundtables that are closed-door, topic-focused discussions that provide practitioners with a collaborative environment to address today’s most pressing security concerns.