Event Recap
On Monday, September 22, 2025, the NCF and MANTECH partnered to provide our first joint XFIL conference for intelligence, defense, and national security professionals. XFIL: Advancing Technology in CNO, held at the Maritime Conference Center in Linthicum Heights, MD, was an evening of innovation, insight, and impact.
Our keynote speaker for the program was Vice Admiral Timothy J. “TJ” White, USN, (Ret), first Chief of Texas Cyber Command who served as Deputy Director, Tailored Access Operations, National Security Agency (NSA).
The program included the following Panel Discussion and Tech Talks:
Future of Computer Operations Panel: Brian Behler & Chris Cleary – MANTECH; TJ White – Texas Cyber Command; Kevin Keaton – NCF; Miles Wilson – AWS
Tech Talk #1 – William Chan – MANTECH – Automated O-Day Detection Using Homebrew
Tech Talk #2 – Jared Stroud – JHU APL – Reverse engineering IOT now and into the future
Tech Talk #3 – Dr. Austin Norby – Bogart Associates, Technical Introduction to Anti-Analysis Techniques
Tech Talk #4 – –Bishoy Khalil – MANTECH – Generative AI in CNO Dev — and Kevin Borden – MANTECH – Gen AI and Reverse Engineering
Several companies sponsored vendor tables which were available for participants to explore throughout the event. See the vendor sponsor logos and links to their websites below.
The event was a successful and thought-provoking conference focused around building robust and secure CNO capabilities. Participants also enjoyed networking with peers, enjoying hors d’oeuvres and drinks, and gaining insights from industry leaders on the future of cyber capabilities. In addition, MANTECH hosted a Trivia Game and Capture the Flag awards at the end of the evening.
Many thanks to our event partner – MANTECH, all vendor table sponsors, and all participants. We look forward to seeing you at the next XFIL program!
Thank you Sponsors!
Interested in sponsoring a future program? Contact Rebecca Diamond at rdiamond@cryptologicfoundation.org for more information.
MANTECH
Event Partner & Sponsor
AWS
Vendor
Carahsoft Corporation
Vendor
Set of X
Vendor
Belay Technologies
Vendor
Signalscape, Inc
Vendor
Booz Allen Hamilton
Vendor
Bogart Associates
Vendor
RealmOne
Vendor
Nexxis Solutions
Vendor
AV
Vendor
Overview
XFIL – The Computer Network Operations (CNO) Conference gathers leaders and specialists to discuss advancements in building strong and secure CNO capabilities. Attendees gain valuable insights into the changing landscape of cyber operations, including the use of computers and networks for defense, exploitation, and attack. Major topics include software tool development, maintenance, debugging, and the challenges of reverse engineering for mission success.