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Welcome to CIONET Belgium

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Upcoming Events

 
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Belgium 23-9-25 Squad Only Virtual english

Cybersecurity Without the Burnout ; Refocusing effort when alerts, threats, and pressure won’t stop

Security teams are overwhelmed. Too many tools. Too many alerts. Too few people. And now, increasing pressure from the board to protect everything, everywhere, all the time. Expect honest reflection, shared strategies, and a conversation that cuts through compliance noise and focuses on what to do when your team is stretched and your risk is rising.

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Belgium 23-9-25 Invitation Only Physical english

Reclaim the cloud : Powering Belgian Finance with Sovereignty

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, the financial services industry in Belgium faces a critical juncture regarding its cloud adoption strategy. While the allure of cloud computing – with its promise of scalability, agility, and innovation – is undeniable, the unique regulatory demands and paramount need for data sovereignty present significant challenges. This CIONET roundtable, aims to bring together Digital Leaders from the Belgian financial sector to discuss how to navigate these complexities. We will explore how financial institutions can leverage cloud technologies while ensuring complete control over their data, maintaining compliance with stringent European regulations like GDPR and DORA, and mitigating geopolitical risks.

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Belgium 24-9-25 Invitation Only Physical english

Bridging the Unbridgeable: IT Meets M(i)OT ; Converged infrastructures demand converged security

As smart devices proliferate across operational environments — from sensors on factory lines and GPS trackers in logistics fleets to wearables in healthcare and connected systems in smart cities — the integration of Managed IoT (MiOT) is accelerating. But with it comes a surge in cybersecurity risks. No longer isolated or air-gapped, OT systems are becoming fully networked, remotely accessible, and deeply entwined with IT. This creates a vulnerable, highly complex digital mesh, one where a single compromised device can trigger physical, financial, and reputational consequences.

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Upcoming TRIBE Events

 
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September 23, 2025 Squad Session Squad Only Virtual english

Cybersecurity Without the Burnout ; Refocusing effort when alerts, threats, and pressure won’t stop

Security teams are overwhelmed. Too many tools. Too many alerts. Too few people. And now, increasing pressure from the board to protect everything, everywhere, all the time. Expect honest reflection, shared strategies, and a conversation that cuts through compliance noise and focuses on what to do when your team is stretched and your risk is rising.

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September 30, 2025 Squad Session Squad Only Virtual english

Technical Debt: When to Pay It and When to Walk Away ; Making smart trade-offs between progress, maintenance, and risk

Everyone has technical debt. The question is what to do with it. Refactor now? Wait for the next feature? Build on it and hope it holds? If you’re tired of debating whether to clean up or move on, this session helps you frame the debt conversation in a way that supports both speed and stability.

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October 2, 2025 Squad Session Squad Only Virtual english

The Career Path of the Architect ;Great architecture begins with great architects

Architecture doesn’t happen in diagrams. It happens in minds, seasoned, curious, sharp minds that understand how the pieces fit. But who’s shaping these minds? Who’s growing the next generation of digital architects? If you’re responsible for complex systems, and for the people designing them, this session is for you.

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CIONET Partner Updates

CIONET Partner Updates

Recent Cases

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Modern Woodmen of America protects remote workforce with unified security

Protects remote workforce with unified security

OVERVIEW

As one of the largest member-owned fraternal financial services organizations in the U.S., Modern Woodmen of America provides life insurance, annuities and other financial products to more than 750,000 members nationwide. Founded in 1883, the organization’s name was inspired by pioneering woodmen clearing forests and building communities to provide security for their families. Modern Woodmen’s founder felt this was the perfect symbol to illustrate his goal of clearing away financial burdens for families.

Based in Rock Island, Illinois, Modern Woodmen of America has more than 500 employees and approximately 1,500 field representatives serving members in 48 states. The organization is committed to improving the lives of its members and their communities through financial guidance and social, educational and volunteer fraternal activities.

 
 

CHALLENGES

Modern Woodmen’s IT security team supports the entire IT environment and workforce, including internal endpoints and laptops used by representatives in the field. While the organization was already using Trend Micro™ OfficeScan™ solution to successfully secure the endpoints for more than 500 internal users, it had issues protecting endpoints for its 1,500 field representatives with another security vendor’s solution. “It was a struggle to keep our field representatives’ devices protected at the level we felt they should be protected,” said Darwin Larrison, Senior Manager Information Security, Modern Woodmen.

Modern Woodmen wanted to extend the benefits of a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) but did not want a security solution that caused performance problems. As a financial organization, it is required to comply with regulations, including Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) standards, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and multi-state insurance regulations.

To improve efficiency and increase visibility across the organization, Modern Woodmen hoped to unify its security ecosystem, connect solutions and quickly generate detailed reports on its security posture for the board of directors and senior management.

 

"We look for best-of-breed solutions, and Trend Micro pushes the envelope to achieve new levels of protection and deliver the best security products available."

Darwin D. Larrison

Senior Manager, Information Security

 
 

WHY TREND

Since Modern Woodmen was already using OfficeScan to protect its internal endpoints and Trend Micro™ Deep Security™ solution for VDI, its IT security team was pleased to learn about Trend Micro™ Worry-Free™ Services to secure the remote workforce. After conducting a thorough proof of concept, the organization found Worry-Free Services met its needs for protection, productivity and efficiency in a hosted model. “With Worry-Free Services, we can provide our field representatives with the best possible protection for their laptops without the need for internal infrastructure to support it,” said Larrison.

 

"Trend Micro solutions help us understand the threat landscape."

Darwin D. Larrison

Senior Manager, Information Security

 
 

SOLUTION

Worry-Free Services delivers automatic updates directly to laptops. This ensures remote computers are always protected. The solution defends against viruses and malware with machine learning technology, and it includes advanced URL filtering that blocks inappropriate websites and web threat protection that stops malware before it reaches users. “After installation, the solution immediately identified security gaps, which we were able to quickly resolve to get back to a healthy baseline,” said Larrison.

Deep Security is currently being used by approximately 200 internal users on VDI. “Deep Security makes total sense for VDI. We don’t want locally installed agents or anything else slowing down a VDI image, and the real-time monitoring and protection at the hypervisor level is a key feature,” said Larrison.

Trend Micro also helped Modern Woodmen unify its security solution management into a single screen. With Trend Micro Control Manager ™, the company can manage OfficeScan, Deep Security and Worry-Free Services from the same console. “Tying everything together on a single pane of glass gives our team visibility across our entire threat landscape,” said Larrison.

 

"With Worry-Free hosted endpoint security, we can provide our field representatives with the best possible protection for their laptops without having to set up an internal infrastructure to support it."

Darwin D. Larrison

Senior Manager, Information Security

 
 

RESULTS

With Trend Micro solutions protecting endpoints for its internal and remote workforce, Modern Woodmen has taken a huge step toward formalizing its cybersecurity program and providing real-time protection for its member information. The solutions also help to reduce security management costs by decreasing the time spent fixing issues and minimizing compliance concerns. “Trend Micro solutions help us understand the threat landscape to improve our overall security and our regulatory compliance posture,” said Larrison.

With Control Manager generating granular reports on Modern Woodmen’s security posture, the security team can now deliver actionable information to their board, senior management and directors to support the value of its security investment. “Trend Micro solutions are doing a great job of keeping Modern Woodmen protected,” said Larrison.

 
 

WHAT'S NEXT

Looking ahead, Modern Woodmen plans to continue to align with the company’s strategic cybersecurity framework. “We’re looking forward to upgrading to the latest version of OfficeScan with machine learning and emerging technologies, which are revolutionizing IT security,” said Larrison.

Modern Woodmen also plans to offer Worry-Free Services with mobile protection to its field representatives once testing is complete. “Most importantly, we plan to continue securing our IT environment with best-of-breed solutions and remain a trusted advisor to our members,” said Larrison.

 

Partners

CIONET Circles

CIONET Business Circles

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Healthcare Circle

Digital Transformation is redefining the future of health care and health delivery. All stakeholders are convinced that these innovations will create value for patients, healthcare practitioners, hospitals, and governments along the patient pathway. The benefits are starting from prevention and awareness to diagnosis, treatment, short- and long-term follow-up, and ultimately survival. But how do you make sure that your working towards an architecturally sound, secure and interoperable health IT ecosystem for your hospital and avoid implementing a hodgepodge of spot solutions? How does your IT department work together with the other stakeholders, such as the doctors and other healthcare practitioners, Life Sciences companies, Tech companies, regulators and your internal governance and administrative bodies?

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Telenet Business Leadership Circle

The Telenet Business Leadership Circle powered by CIONET, offers a platform where IT executives and thought leaders can meet to inspire each other and share best practices. We want to be a facilitator who helps you optimise the performance of your IT function and your business by embracing the endless opportunities that digital change brings.

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Les Rencontres

Découvrez la dynamique du leadership numérique aux Rencontres de CIONET, le programme francophone exclusif de CIONET pour les leaders numériques en Belgique, rendu possible grâce au soutien et à l'engagement de nos partenaires de programme : Deloitte, Denodo et Red Hat. Rejoignez trois événements inspirants par an à Liège, Namur et en Brabant Wallon, où des CIOs et des experts numériques francophones de premier plan partagent leurs perspectives et expériences sur des thèmes d'affaires et de IT actuels. Laissez-vous inspirer et apprenez des meilleurs du secteur lors de sessions captivantes conçues spécialement pour soutenir et enrichir votre rôle en tant que CIO pair. Ne manquez pas cette opportunité de faire partie d'un réseau exceptionnel d'innovateurs numériques !

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Female Leadership Circle

CIONET is committed to highlighting and celebrating female role models in IT, Tech & Digital, creating a leadership programme that empowers and elevates women within the tech industry. This initiative is dedicated to showcasing the achievements and successes of leading women, fostering an environment where female role models are recognised, and their contributions can ignite progress and inspire the next generation of women in IT. Our mission is to shine the spotlight a little brighter on female role models in IT, Tech & Digital, and to empower each other through this inner network community.

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