Invitation Only
Toronto CTI & Threat Hunting UnConference
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 | 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM EDT
STEAK LUNCH INCLUDED
Location:
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
145 Richmond Street West
Toronto/ON – Canada M5H 2L2
Join Intel 471 along with Toronto’s top cybersecurity industry experts and esteemed peers at this exclusive vendor-neutral UnConference.
This event will take you through an immersive demonstration of how to Operationalize Threat Hunting through CTI. Discover how experts combine exclusive CTI insights and pair them with unparalleled behavioral threat hunt capabilities to defend against the industry’s top threats. Our keynote speaker, David Xu, the Leader, Threat & Vulnerability Management at Interac Corp., will share key insights into different approaches to threat hunting. Read more about the keynote here.
The event will close out with interactive roundtable discussions after lunch, fostering information sharing among fellow experts. Join the Intel 471 team and other attendees for optional networking afterwards.
The Agenda
9:30 AM: Arrival & Registration - Light Refreshments
9:45 - 10:00 AM: Welcome by Brandon Hoffman | Chief Strategy Officer
10:00 - 10:45 AM: Good, Better, Best – Different approaches to Threat Hunting by David Xu | Leader, Threat & Vulnerability Management at Interac Corp
10:45 - 11:00 AM: Break
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM: The Com in Action: How Intel Desks Address High Priority Threats by Ashley Jess and Garrett Carstens | Sr. Intelligence Analyst and VP of Intel Operations
11:45 AM - 12:30 PM: Move Threat Hunting from Tactical to Visionary: How Threat Intelligence Advances Hunting to the Next Level by Mike Mitchell | VP, Threat Hunt Intelligence
12:30 - 1:00 PM: Lunch
1:00 - 2:00 PM: Interactive Roundtable Discussions - Optional Networking to Follow
*Agenda is subject to change
Register
Meet Your Keynote Speaker
David Xu | Good, Better, Best – Different approaches to Threat Hunting
David Xu is the Leader of Threat & Vulnerability Management at Interac Corp. In this role, he oversees programs that proactively protect Interac’s products and spearheads security engineering initiatives to ensure the development of secure and innovative solutions.
Before joining Interac, David held various cybersecurity positions within the Threat Management team at Canadian Tire. His roles included Incident Response, Threat Intelligence, and Vulnerability Management. Before moving to Interac, he led the overall Threat & Vulnerability Management function for the Canadian Tire family of companies and subsidiaries.
Keynote Abstract: The threat hunting industry is projected to grow 20% annually, surpassing $10 billion by the end of the decade. However, a successful threat hunting program goes beyond implementing a tool. Technology can be helpful; however, the true value of a threat hunt is driven by focusing on threat-relevant outcomes against a well-defined methodology. It is crucial to be focused on the organization’s business goals to tailor the hunt program exactly to the organization’s needs. This keynote will describe the “Good, Better, Best” approaches to threat hunting, detailing the components of each approach, allowing attendees to gain insights on how to customize the most effective hunt program for your organization.
Meet Your Hosts
Brandon Hoffman | Chief Strategy Officer
Brandon Hoffman is the Chief Strategy officer at Intel 471 responsible for leading all strategic efforts across the business including corporate development, partnerships, and product strategy. Brandon is a 20+ year veteran of the cyber security industry and an accomplished public speaker. He has held CTO roles at Intel 471, Lumeta and a Federal CTO role at RedSeal. Aside from building and scaling product research and development teams, Brandon has also led and supported various business functions related to growth and value creation, alliances, solution architecture and solution sales.
Mike Mitchell | VP, Threat Hunt Intelligence Mike is VP of Threat Hunt Intelligence, and prior to joining Intel 471 he was a co-founder of recently acquired threat hunting provider, Cyborg Security. While at Cyborg, he was a cross-functional founder focused on technical implementation, sales, product architecture, and managing the content development team and its deliverables. Mike has 12 + years of diverse cyber security experience from Senior Solutions and Security Engineer, Director of Sales Engineering to Co-Founder of Cyborg Security. Prior to his career in cyber security, Mike spent a number of years in pro baseball with the Colorado Rockies.
Ashley Jess | Sr. Intelligence Analyst
Ashley is a Senior Intelligence Analyst with Intel 471, where she identifies, analyzes, and communicates timely trends related to criminal actors operating in the cybercriminal underground, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency scams and critical events. She was previously a tactical specialist with the Department of Justice, with experience in investigating encrypted communication platforms and ransomware.
Garrett Carstens | VP, Intel Operations
Garrett Carstens as the Vice President of Intel Operations at Intel 471 coordinates internal and cross-departmental initiatives focused on optimizing timely and relevant intelligence production and delivery. Prior to joining Intel 471, Garrett spent over 15 years in various roles within the U.S. Department of Defense and the financial sector– always with a primary mission of identifying, analyzing and mitigating cyber threats.
