This Coffee Talk features an open conversation with Sydnie Beckman, Founder of Sturnella, about the increasingly important intersection of cybersecurity, business strategy, economic conditions, and national security.
The discussion will begin with the larger forces shaping critical industries: including defense investment, energy security, critical-mineral supply chains, geopolitical risk, and the effort to strengthen the Defense Industrial Base. From there, Sydnie will explore how cyber, audit, and risk professionals can move beyond the headlines and translate these developments into practical conversations about contracts, operations, supply-chain resilience, governance, and executive accountability.
The Department of War’s July 13, 2026 announcement suspending the transition to CMMC Phase II provides a timely example of why practitioners must distinguish between a policy announcement, the specific requirements affected, and the obligations that remain in place. Phase I self-assessment requirements remain active, while the transition to Phase II requirements has been suspended. The purpose of the discussion is not to predict the outcome of the Department’s review, but to demonstrate how leaders can evaluate changing requirements carefully, communicate what is known, and avoid treating uncertainty as either a crisis or a free pass.
The broader conversation will focus on finding the middle ground between technical cybersecurity detail and business consequence. Attendees will hear how cybersecurity connects to revenue, contract eligibility, customer confidence, operational resilience, capital allocation, and board oversight and how practitioners can communicate those connections without overstating what the available facts support. As always, this Coffee Talk is free, open to the public, and qualifying participants can earn 1 CPE.
ATTENDEE TAKEAWAYS
A framework for separating headlines, confirmed facts, open questions, and speculation when cybersecurity policy changes occur.
A clearer understanding of how macroeconomic, geopolitical, defense, energy, and supply-chain developments can influence an organization’s cyber-risk environment.
Practical ways to translate technical findings into conversations about business operations, contracts, revenue, resilience, and executive accountability.
A board-level perspective on discussing changing cyber requirements without making unsupported predictions or prematurely changing organizational priorities.
Questions cyber, audit, and risk professionals can ask to better understand the business context surrounding the controls they assess.
An understanding of why cybersecurity governance is broader than compliance with any single regulation, framework, or certification program.
SPEAKER: Sydnie Beckman, Founder at Sturnella
Sydnie runs Sturnella, a cyber governance advisory practice focused on SEC cyber disclosure, CMMC attestation risk, and board-level oversight for mining, energy, defense, and other critical industries.
Visit Sydnie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydniebb/
DETAILS:
Date: Thursday, July 30th
Time: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.
Location: Online via Zoom
CPE: 1
ONLINE
Online access is available via the chapter’s Zoom account (registration below).
Attendance capacity is 500