CCI Symposium 2026 Breaks Records in Attendance and Poster Presentations
277 attendees • 77 posters • 7 demos • 41 paper presentations
The annual CCI Symposium brought together Virginia’s cybersecurity community in Richmond, Va., April 13–14, drawing a record 277 attendees, 77 posters, seven demonstrations of CCI‑funded advanced technology, and 41 paper presentations.
“Collaboration is a hallmark of CCI and key to our success,” CCI Executive Director Luiz DaSilva said. “The symposium’s goal is deceptively simple: by giving people a chance to meet and discuss ideas, we’re laying the foundation for new research, employment opportunities, commercial solutions to security challenges, and more.”
CCI is a statewide network of 47 colleges and universities working with industry and government partners to strengthen cybersecurity workforce development, innovation, and research.
Award highlights
The first day of the symposium stood out for the depth and engagement of the discussions, said Massimiliano “Max” Albanese, associate chair for research in George Mason University’s Department of Information Sciences and Technology and executive director of the Institute for Digital Innovation and the Center for Infrastructure Security in the Era of AI.
“The research roundtables used a structured exercise in which participants explored a wide range of ideas before narrowing them into shared priorities and solutions to advance CCI’s mission,” Albanese said. “That kind of in‑person exchange leads to deeper insights and more meaningful connections.”
Event highlights included a keynote by Alexis Wales, chief information security officer at GitHub, who emphasized that securing the open‑source supply chain is a shared responsibility and pointed to emerging areas of cybersecurity research.
For students preparing to enter the workforce, Wales underscored the importance of curiosity, adaptability, and clear communication. “These are the skills that stand the test of time,” she said.
DaSilva also delivered the annual State of CCI update. Key takeaways included:
From 2020 to 2025, CCI supported the creation of 4,658 jobs, generating $370 million in labor income and contributing more than $500 million to Virginia’s GDP.
CCI has incubated 13 spinouts and collaborated with more than 125 Virginia cybersecurity startups, supporting student internships, research partnerships, and innovation.
Over the past six years, CCI researchers secured $384 million in cybersecurity research funding, approximately 30% from industry, driving 8% annual growth across CCI universities—well above the national rate.
Students also shared their experiences during the Experiential Learning Panel, highlighting hands‑on projects completed for employers through programs such as CCI’s Project-Based Learning Program.
An annual highlight, the poster session broke records with 77 presentations. “As a PhD student in mathematics, the CCI Symposium offers a rare opportunity to engage with researchers across disciplines and present my work to a truly interdisciplinary audience,” Shapiro said. “It challenges me to clearly communicate applications and builds pathways to collaboration and future careers.”
Cybersecurity researchers from across Virginia presented 41 papers spanning AI for Cyber and Cyber for AI, comprehensive cyber, data security and cyber policy, and securing autonomous systems.
New this year, technology demonstrations showcased CCI‑funded advances, including:
“CloudCTF: Expanding Accessible, Scalable Cybersecurity Competitions Across the Commonwealth,” by Shannon Beck, Virginia Tech
“Interactive Demonstration of Energy‑Aware Physical Layer Security Against Eavesdropping in Resource‑Constrained IoT Networks,” by James Madison University researchers
“Interoperable Open‑Source 5G RAN Stacks,” by CCI/Virginia Tech researchers
“Introspective and Interactive Visual Grounding for Cybersecurity Analysis Agents,” by William & Mary researchers
“Orion: Real‑Time AI‑Powered Phishing Detection,” by George Mason University researchers
“Virtual Reality Authentication,” by Christopher Newport University researchers
“Wideband AMD Xilinx RFSoC mmWave OFDM Communication System with Integrated Sensing and Communication,” by George Mason University researchers