Why Insider Risk Demands a Whole-of-Community Response

The 11th National Insider Risk Symposium will convene security leaders on September 15–16, 2026, at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C.

Insider risk rarely belongs to a single team. Security may detect an unusual pattern, but the surrounding context can involve identity, access, human behaviour, employment changes, legal obligations and operational pressures. A mature response therefore requires coordination across security, IT, HR, legal and business leadership.

The 11th National Insider Risk Symposium is designed around this whole-of-community challenge. Organized by Defense Strategies Institute, the two-day event will bring together leaders from government, defense, critical infrastructure, academia and industry to examine how organizations can strengthen mitigation, detection, prevention and response.

Moving from detection toward prevention

Detection remains essential, but the program goes further. Discussions will examine how organizations can build resilience before an incident occurs, connect identity intelligence with human policy, and apply behavioural research alongside technology to protect critical information and systems.

This is particularly relevant as AI changes how employees access, create and move information. It introduces new productivity opportunities while also changing the scale and speed at which accidental or intentional exposure can occur. Security leaders need controls that account for technology and human context without creating unnecessary friction.

Cross-sector perspectives

Insider risk takes different forms across defense, healthcare, maritime operations, public infrastructure and commercial organizations. The symposium will bring those perspectives together through sessions on organizational resilience, cyber-intelligence sharing, identity intelligence, critical-system protection and proactive insider-risk programs.

Confirmed speakers include leaders from the National Counterintelligence & Security Center, CISA, DCSA, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, MITRE, AeroVironment, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, Labcorp and other organizations.

Event details

11th National Insider Risk Symposium
September 15–16, 2026
National Housing Center
1201 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005

Late registration closes September 11, 2026.