The pre-conference workshops for this year will take place on Monday June 1, 2026, from 1 to 5 p.m. These workshops are an integral component of the NICE Conference, offering focused discussions on specific topics and issues in a small group setting.
To participate in a workshop, there is an extra fee, and registration for the main conference is mandatory. Moreover, attendees can only sign up for one four-hour workshop, as each workshop consists of two sessions with a networking break in the middle.
LLM Security Workforce Skills Through Live Labs
Learn to secure AI systems and mitigate AI-enabled threats in this hands-on workshop aligned with the NICE Framework’s AI Security competency (NF-COM-002). Using a professional browser-based lab environment, you’ll explore ethical AI security practices, complete an attestation acknowledging responsible use, and engage in controlled exercises that demonstrate real-world threats like prompt injection attacks. You’ll see firsthand how these techniques map to framework competencies such as AI-K005 and implement defensive controls aligned to AI-K038.
The workshop also covers the OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications, connecting the most critical AI vulnerabilities to NF-COM-002 competencies. Participants leave with a technical mapping document linking lab exercises to NICE Framework knowledge and skills, making this experience immediately applicable to roles like Vulnerability Assessment Analyst and Software Security Assessor. No prior AI experience is required.
Already Connected: Cybersecurity, Data Life-cycles, & Workforce Design
Cybersecurity risks increasingly stem from system and design gaps, not just technical failures. This workshop reframes cybersecurity as an ecosystem challenge, showing how data, risk, and workforce roles intersect across the full lifecycle—from generation and collection to use and governance. Participants will explore how foundational practices connect to emerging challenges like AI, data sovereignty, and systemic risk, gaining a practical, non-technical framework to map roles, responsibilities, and points of accountability.
Attendees will leave with actionable tools to identify workforce gaps, align roles, and strengthen coordination across education, industry, and government. The session includes a reusable participatory exercise for visualizing real-world data flows and cyber risk, along with shared terminology linking core concepts to future challenges. This hands-on approach equips participants to translate foundational cybersecurity practices into future-ready workforce design they can immediately apply in programs, policy discussions, or training initiatives.
Securing the Cyber Workforce for Emerging Technologies: Workforce Trust Management and Readiness Across the Americas
Cybersecurity work is being transformed by emerging technologies like AI, automation, and autonomous systems, reshaping roles across governance, policy, engineering, operations, and leadership. This workshop examines how organizations worldwide can strengthen workforce readiness through trust, oversight, and practical assurance approaches, helping participants understand the evolving risks and workforce implications of human–technology interactions. Attendees will explore lessons from diverse organizational and national contexts across the Americas and beyond, highlighting scalable strategies adaptable to countries and sectors with varying resources and maturity levels.
Participants will leave with practical frameworks and discussion prompts to guide workforce strategies, training programs, and policy conversations. Through interactive presentations, case studies, and facilitated breakout discussions, attendees will gain insights on skills evolution, work redesign, governance, and accountability—equipping them to design future-ready cybersecurity programs that work across borders, sectors, and functions.
AI-Driven Approaches to Cybersecurity Education: Labs & Workforce Skills
AI is transforming cybersecurity and educators msut adapt. As AI-powered threat actors and defensive tools rapidly evolve, cybersecurity programs face a critical challenge: preparing students to remain indispensable in an AI-augmented workforce.
This hands-on workshop equips cybersecurity educators with practical AI skills and curriculum strategies to prepare students for a landscape where both attackers and defenders leverage artificial intelligence.
Drawing from the NSF-funded AI Horizon Project (NAIRR EAGER #2528858) and XP Cyber workforce development initiatives, participants will:
- Gain hands-on experience with AI-powered security tools
- Practice prompt engineering for threat analysis
- Explore agentic development environments for building security tools
- Learn frameworks to help students distinguish human-essential skills from AI-augmentable ones
- Develop strategies to modernize cybersecurity curriculum
Participants will leave with ready-to-use templates, practical tools, and a clear roadmap for integrating AI into cybersecurity education — preparing students to leverage AI defensively while understanding its offensive applications.