- Katherine Sutton, Department of War assistant secretary for cyber policy, will deliver a keynote address at the 2026 Cyber Summit on May 21
- Sutton’s broad experience and leadership in cyber and other critical emerging technologies at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and in federal R&D makes her a highly-sought after speaker
- Get your burning questions answered by Sutton following her keynote. Secure your seat today!
Potomac Officers Club, the nation’s premier GovCon networking, media and events organization, is excited to announce Katherine Sutton, Department of War assistant secretary for cyber policy and the principal cyber advisor to the secretary of war, will deliver a keynote address at the 2026 Cyber Summit on May 21 at the Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park in northern Virginia.
The DOW budgeted more than $66 billion in IT funding for FY 2026 distributed among unclassified and classified IT, and cyber operations, up 3 percent from FY 2025. Hear directly from Sutton and top department officials about their cybersecurity spending priorities for 2026 and beyond
Who Is Katherine Sutton?
Sutton is one of the nation’s leading national security cyber practitioners with a wide variety of experience and leadership spanning the Pentagon, Capitol Hill and federal research and development. She’s also the second Senate-confirmed official to ever hold the role of assistant secretary of war for cyber policy.
Prior to becoming assistant secretary, she served as the chief technology advisor to the commander and director of Pentagon operations at U.S. Cyber Command, where she advised the four-star commander on engineering strategies and policies in workforce management, acquisition and enhanced budget control.
What Has Katherine Sutton’s Career Focused On?
Sutton has spent her career improving how the Pentagon and the national security community leverages technologies like cybersecurity, nuclear security and IT to achieve mission success. She spent nearly six years as a professional staff member for both the House and Senate armed services committees.
As a HASC professional staff member, Sutton provided oversight of the DOW’s roughly $45 billion cyber, IT, cloud and information operations portfolio for emerging threats subcommittee. Sutton, for SASC, was responsible for the Pentagon’s $25 billion slate of 5G and wireless spectrum, cyber, digital modernization and emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, microelectronics and quantum science, among others.
Sutton has nearly 11 years of progressively increasing responsibility at Sandia National Laboratories, a federally-funded R&D center. As R&D cybersecurity manager from 2017 to 2018, she led a department of cybersecurity researchers responsible for developing secure systems and advancing innovative, adversary-based assessments. This was for a diverse set of government stakeholders, including the departments of Energy, Homeland Security and War.
Sutton also has vast experience in space R&D. She served as space system project lead at Sandia Labs earlier in her career, where she led an integrated, multi-disciplinary and high-performing team of more than 30 staff members responsible for all facets of the Air Force’s first Global Positioning System III positioning, navigation and timing system. She also spent roughly a year providing technical advice and support in space-based nuclear detonation detection at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
What Sutton Will Address in Her Keynote
Sutton’s keynote at the 2026 Cyber Summit on May 21 is likely to address several themes from her extensive experience with emerging national security technologies including cybersecurity, digital modernization, quantum science, cloud computing, PNT and more.
Some possible topics include:
- China. The near-peer nation is the most significant cyber threat to the DOW and the U.S., according to Sutton. Hear her strategies for addressing these threats through day-to-day competition while remaining postured to fight, and win, in the cyber realm.
- Offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. Learn directly from Sutton her plans leading the DOW to robust, effective and second-to-none offensive and defensive cyber forces.
- Artificial intelligence. Discover Sutton’s methods for working with the DOW chief information officer and operational components to ensure the department leverages data and AI to gain full situational awareness in the cyber domain.
- CYBERCOM 2.0. This is the most significant transformation of U.S. Cyber Command since its inception over 15 years ago. Find out how Sutton plans to use CYBERCOM 2.0 to create a cyber force equipped to operate with precision, agility and lethality.
- And more!
Why Should I Attend the 2026 Cyber Summit?
The 2026 Cyber Summit is the essential conference for GovCon technology professionals. Attendees will learn about the latest on the DOW’s progress toward zero trust compliance for 2027 and where defense and civilian agencies stand in their cybersecurity journeys. Hear the latest partnership opportunities directly from top federal officials and boost your business at the 2026 Cyber Summit.
The 2026 Cyber Summit on May 21 brings together the top leaders driving impact and innovation across the cybersecurity landscape. Here are five reasons you cannot miss the summit:
- Network with elite GovCon leadership. The 2026 Cyber Summit brings together C-suite and senior executives from major GovCons and federal agencies in one room, providing rare access to peers who shape cyber acquisition strategy, mission outcomes and budgets.
- Gain insights into the future of cybersecurity. Session and keynotes focus on essential trends and opportunities in cybersecurity, including cryptographic agility across federal systems, public-private cyber defense collaboration and AI-driven threat detection and anomaly identification
- Shape your strategic outlook. Whether it’s leveraging zero trust as a foundation for resilience or elevating cyber risk to mission-level impact, the insights gained at the 2026 Cyber Summit will help you refine your strategic plans, accelerate growth and improve your revenues in the fast-evolving cybersecurity landscape.
What’s the Agenda for the 2026 Cyber Summit?
In addition to Sutton’s keynote, the agenda for the 2026 Cyber Summit includes:
Keynotes by:
- Robyn Celestino, White House Office of the National Cyber Director general counsel
- Michael Duffey (invited), Office of Management and Budget acting federal chief information security officer
Panels on critical topics, including:
- Dig into balancing innovation with security continuity at Quantum Computing and Post Quantum Cryptography: Preparing for the Next Security Disruption
- Unlock integrating security into enterprise strategies at Cyber Risk to Mission Risk: Aligning Security, Operations and Executive Decision-Making
- Tap into the path to autonomous security environments at From Automated to Autonomous: Leveraging AI to Evolve Your Security Operations Center
The 2026 Cyber Summit on May 21 at the Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park in northern Virginia is the must-attend GovCon conference for cyber professionals. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to engage with the best and brightest leaders in cybersecurity and scale your impact in this critical national security realm. Sign up now!
