ISSA Sacramento Valley Chapter Meeting – 7/18/2025 – Custom AIs for Security

Speaker: Steven Templeton

Topic: Beyond Chatbots: Building Custom AIs for Real-World Security and Education

Synopsis: Have you ever wondered how to do more with AI than just have it answer your homework or act as a smarter search engine?

In this talk, we’ll explore how to create task-specific AIs — using no-code tools like OpenAI’s Custom GPTs or low-code options like Python-based agents — and integrate them into workflows for security, education, and beyond. You’ll learn how to design prompts, connect models to your data, and even build agents that ask questions instead of just answering them.

We’ll also cover the key vocabulary you need to understand the AI landscape (terms like fine-tuning, embeddings, and RAG) and explain what makes different models tick — and why it matters. Along the way, I’ll share lessons from my own “Protecting Pandas Project,” where students interacted with an AI-powered game master as part of a cryptography course — a hands-on example of how AI can enable more scalable, consistent, and creative experiences.

Whether you’re a SOC analyst, AI tinkerer, or just AI-curious, this session will give you the language, tools, and ideas to get started with custom AI in your own domain.

And yes… this was written by an AI.

Speaker Bio: Steven Templeton is a cybersecurity consultant, educator, and former wildlife biologist who brings over 25 years of experience blending technology, security, and creativity. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Security from UC Davis, has worked extensively in industrial control system (ICS) security and compliance, and currently teaches in the cybersecurity engineering graduate program at the University of San Diego. Steven has a knack for making complex ideas approachable — from machine learning to Splunk to AI-based roleplaying tools for cryptography students.

Meeting Details: This will be a hybrid meeting (both in-person and on-line). You may attend remotely via Zoom (see below) or attend in person at Capsity, 3808 Broadway, Sacramento CA.

Please register for the meeting below. 

You don’t have to be a member of ISSA to attend our meetings (but we encourage you to join us!). Please share information about this meeting with your friends and colleagues who have an interest in information security.

This is hybrid meeting on Zoom and in-person.

Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84186623031?pwd=EtHkuqg0it61fhLsaZIpC8aCHldHG9.1

Meeting ID: 841 8662 3031
Passcode: 668146