# Chris Gawlik

**Industry Expert at Sia Partners**

## About

Mr. Gawlik is Sia's Industry Expert in the Cybersecurity, Data Protection and IT Risks practice, specializing in Operational Resilience, Incident Management, Crisis Management, and Strategic Program & Project Management. With over 20 years of experience, he has worked and consulted across a myriad of industries, including financial, medical, national infrastructure, and government, building and running programs for some of the world's largest companies. Chris has built a career on bringing order to chaos, guiding senior and executive leadership through complex, high-stakes situations, and delivering coaching, leadership development, and keynote presentations.

## Connect

- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-gawlik-pmp-a2362911/)

## Sessions

### State-Sponsored Actors Are Already Inside Our Grid, and We Still Don't Know What's Plugged In

**What you will learn:** In February 2024, CISA, NSA, and the FBI confirmed something that once sounded like speculation: PRC state-sponsored actors, tracked as Volt Typhoon, had compromised and maintained persistent access inside U.S. critical infrastructure networks across energy, water, transportation, and communications. The objective wasn’t data theft. It was pre-positioning for potentially disruptive or destructive attacks in the event of a major crisis or conflict with the United States.

How real is the threat? What does it mean for the OT industry? And, more importantly, what can operators do about it now?

## Speaking At

- [RBLN West 2026 - San Francisco](https://www.rbln.com/events/2026/west)

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*Source: [RBLN (Rebellion) Cybersecurity Conference – Technical Security Event for Hackers, AI Builders & Operators](https://www.rbln.com/speakers/chris-gawlik)*