Key Takeaways
- The panel brings together leaders from law, corporate security, municipal programs, and insurance, offering a 360‑degree view of cyber risk management.
- Cameron G. Shilling emphasizes a proactive, counsel‑driven approach to cybersecurity, privacy, and AI governance across New England and beyond.
- Paige Yeater illustrates how embedding security into operational DNA can drive both business performance and a culture of continuous learning.
- Jason J. Sgro highlights the value of public‑private partnerships, especially municipal cyber‑defense training, to strengthen community resilience.
- Lisa Bruinooge King shows how specialized cyber liability insurance complements technical controls, helping organizations transfer residual risk.
- Collectively, the panelists advocate for a layered strategy: governance, people‑centric culture, collaborative training, and financial safeguards.
Overview of the Panelists and Their Collective Expertise
The discussion featured four distinguished professionals whose backgrounds span legal counsel, corporate operations, municipal cybersecurity, and risk‑transfer solutions. Each panelist contributes a distinct lens on how organizations can anticipate, mitigate, and respond to evolving cyber threats. Their combined experience covers private‑sector enterprises, public‑sector training initiatives, and the insurance mechanisms that underpin risk management. By sharing insights from their respective fields, the panel aimed to provide attendees with a holistic framework for building resilient cyber programs that align legal, technical, operational, and financial considerations.
Background and Expertise of Cameron G. Shilling
Cameron G. Shilling chairs the Cybersecurity, Privacy, and AI Group at McLane Middleton, a boutique firm he founded over fifteen years ago. Leading a team of six specialists, he has delivered risk‑management counseling, incident response, and breach‑handling services to a diverse client base that includes businesses, schools, healthcare providers, financial institutions, and professional services firms across New England, the East Coast, and internationally. His work has earned recognition such as the Business in Excellence Award from the New Hampshire Business Review, the Go To Cyber Lawyer Award from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and the Northeast Trailblazer Award from the American Lawyer Association. Shilling also serves on the Advisory Board of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, underscoring his thought leadership in privacy and AI governance.
Operational Security Leadership: Paige Yeater’s Approach
Paige Yeater functions as both Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Security Officer at Mainstay Technologies, where she has woven security into the very fabric of the organization. Her leadership philosophy centers on unlocking potential in others, fostering a culture that embraces growth, trust, and learning from failures. Yeater’s credentials include an MBA from The Citadel, Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) status, and Registered Practitioner (RP) designation through the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body (CMMC‑AB). Recognized as the 2021 NHTA Tech Professional of the Year and a 2022 Leadership NH graduate, she also contributes to the NH Tech Alliance board and chairs Leveling the Fields, while balancing her professional life with motherhood to two teenagers.
Municipal Cyber Defense and Public‑Private Collaboration: Jason J. Sgro
A lifelong New Hampshire native, Jason J. Sgro serves as Managing Partner of The Atom Group, where he directs the cybersecurity practice offering incident response, proactive auditing, data forensics, and privacy services. Under his leadership, ATOM administers the Municipal Cyber Defense Programs, delivering statewide cyber‑training initiatives for New Hampshire and Maine. Prior to this, Sgro headed the FBI’s InfraGard Program in New Hampshire and amassed over twenty‑five years of technology experience spanning startups to Fortune 500 enterprises. His background underscores the importance of bridging governmental expertise with private‑sector agility to elevate community‑wide cyber resilience.
Insurance and Risk Transfer: Lisa Bruinooge King’s Perspective
Lisa Bruinooge King, a Senior Account Executive at Cross Insurance, brings more than twenty‑five years of property‑and‑casualty industry experience to the table. A former owner of Sadler Insurance in Nashua, she now helps clients across technology, life sciences, healthcare, nonprofit, manufacturing, commercial real estate, retail/wholesale, automotive, international, professional services, and general business sectors navigate complex risk exposures, especially cyber liability and data privacy. King holds the CIC designation and actively participates in the New Hampshire Tech Alliance, where she has served as a board member, volunteer, and currently chairs the Product of the Year program. Her insights highlight how specialized cyber insurance complements technical controls, providing a financial safety net for residual risk.
Synthesis: Building a Layered Cyber Resilience Strategy
Together, the panelists illustrate that effective cybersecurity is not a singular function but a layered strategy encompassing governance, people, technology, collaboration, and financial protection. Shilling’s legal counsel ensures that organizations understand regulatory obligations and contractual liabilities. Yeater’s operational focus demonstrates how embedding security into daily processes cultivates a vigilant workforce. Sgro’s municipal training initiatives expand the defensive perimeter beyond individual firms to the broader community. King’s insurance perspective offers a mechanism to transfer the inevitable residual risk that no technical control can fully eliminate. By integrating these elements—clear policies, empowered employees, shared threat intelligence, and risk‑transfer tools—organizations can achieve a resilient posture capable of withstanding and recovering from the ever‑evolving cyber threat landscape.