Community updates, events, and institutional news for Arizona’s cybersecurity practitioners.
Sonoran Desert Security (SDSUG)® Newsletter — Issue 1 (May 2026)
SDSUG is a practitioner‑focused cybersecurity community exploring artificial intelligence (AI), emerging and disruptive technologies (EDT), post-quantum cryptography (PQC), and quantum computing.
Social without the social media — real practitioners, real conversations, real community.
Founded 2001 • Celebrating 25 Years • Arizona’s First Security Institution • Arizona, USA
SDSUG’s work is made possible through the support of our annual sponsors.
2026 Sponsors: ISARA Corporation (Corporate Sponsor) and University of Advancing Technology (Location Sponsor).
Table of Contents
1.1 First Sonoran Desert Security (SDSUG) Newsletter from Someone Other Than Leo
1.2 Conferences for Free and Helping Arizona Charities
INTERFACE Phoenix 2026 — June 18, 2026, 8:30 AM-4:30 PM. At INTERFACE 2026
4. Opportunities & Calls for Participation
5. Highlights from the Community
Contact us to send your news, and we will publish it and celebrate your wins here.
1. From the President
This newsletter marks a meaningful milestone for SDSUG as we celebrate our Silver Anniversary this year. We’ve also completed a major transformation of our digital presence — now 88 pages strong, including the newly published Silver Anniversary Message. In a quiet but meaningful coincidence, it also became the fiftieth page in SDSUG’s modern archive — a small sign of the decades still ahead, and of the one who will write the Golden Anniversary Message in our fiftieth year.
It also marks the completion of SDSUG’s broader modernization effort, including a refreshed logo and a fully rebuilt website designed for clarity, continuity, and long‑term stewardship. You may have noticed we dropped the term “user group” from the name and wonder why we did that. Learn more in our The History of Cybersecurity Communities: A Timeline of Key Milestones article.
Speaking of publications, looking towards the future, and the federal PQC mandate, see our 95,000-word report, How Arizona Can Execute PQC Migration at Scale.
1.1 First Sonoran Desert Security (SDSUG) Newsletter from Someone Other Than Leo
This is also the first newsletter sent to you by someone other than our founder, Leo. He has kept this group going for 25 years, and it is a great honor to attempt to fill his shoes. Obviously, a tall order, since I’m short.
Levity aside, I’m not Leo. But I’m going to do everything I can to honor the legacy he built, and continue what he started. That means I will be looking for additional Leadership Team, Community Roles, and other positions to get this group back to what we all remember. You are the most important part of that.
Some of you are curious about the transition, and probably wonder why Leo selected me to lead SDSUG instead of [insert name of person you know here]. Learn more on our Leadership transition page.
1.2 Conferences for Free and Helping Arizona Charities
When you register for cybersecurity conferences with our SDSUG Members code, you will receive free admission.
What you may not know is that your free admission also helps charities like Dogs 4 Vets and St. Mary’s Food Bank. For each of our members who registers for some of these events, SDSUG receives a donation from the conference organization. Leo quietly donated those funds directly to charity for years. Learn more about it on our Community Impact page. I will continue that tradition of service, and the donations will go directly to these same charities.
Register for INTERFACE Phoenix 2026
1.3 Restoration and Continuity
People aren’t excited because SDSUG is “new.” They’re excited because it’s back.
These are the questions we hear most often:
- When are the meetings returning
- When are the conferences coming back
- When are we gathering again
- Will we be doing breakfasts and lunches again
That excitement is the clearest signal that SDSUG was never “just a user group.” It was a pillar of Arizona’s security community.
SDSUG is restoring that role — and expanding it.
1.4 In-Person Meetings
Speaking of getting together, SDSUG will begin in-person meetings again soon. Keep an eye on your email, and on the Events page. That page will expand to cover all events in the Valley of the Sun, as SDSUG is in the process of establishing and renewing formal peer relationships with all of them.
Our first meeting won’t be a big conference like Leo used to do, since we are just restarting after a hiatus. However, I have big plans for this event, and you will want to be there.
It will be:
- Celebration of Leo and his contributions to the Arizona cybersecurity community
- SDSUG 25th Anniversary Party
- First SDSUG in-person meeting since 2019
- Introducing our new sponsor
- A surprise world-class speaker from a global corporation that you will not want to miss. This is one you will be talking about 10 years from now, and saying things like, “I was there when [name of speaker] flew in from [name of speaker’s home] to speak to our group!”
Don’t have anyone to go to the event with? Come sit with us!
1.5 New Roles
SDSUG is introducing new community roles to support events and operations, including Moderator and Welcome Ambassador. These roles help ensure meetings run smoothly and guests feel welcomed from the moment they arrive.
We have also established a Safety and Incident Response Team, staffed by Safety and Protective Operations Officers. These roles strengthen SDSUG’s ability to operate confidently in today’s evolving cyber‑physical landscape and ensure a safe, professionally governed environment for all attendees.
1.6 New Identity Marks
SDSUG has also introduced two new institutional identity marks: the 25th Anniversary Seal and the new SDSUG Emblem. The Anniversary Seal commemorates a quarter‑century of community stewardship, while the new Emblem reflects SDSUG’s modernized identity and long‑term continuity. Both symbols now appear across SDSUG’s publications, events, and digital presence as part of our ongoing restoration and modernization effort.
1.7 New Website Features
I encourage you to explore all the pages on our website, even the new governance pages. A great deal of effort went into building this organization into a place you can call home and feel welcome. Like you, I remember the original group, and that’s the vibe I’m going to keep for us.
That said, a metaphorical coat of paint on the SDSUG house was in order, and that’s why we have many new features for you to explore, including:
- Events Calendar
- Publications
- Research Reports
- Submit Papers
- Submit a Topic to Speak
- Volunteer Opportunities
1.8 Thanks to the SDSUG Team
Special appreciation goes to the volunteers who support SDSUG’s operations and events. Thank you for being part of the community that has carried SDSUG for twenty‑five years. Together, we’re building the foundation for the next twenty‑five and beyond.
More announcements are coming as SDSUG rebuilds its full event ecosystem.
Thank you for being part of the community that built SDSUG — and the one that will carry it forward.
Hunter Storm
2. Upcoming Events
INTERFACE Phoenix 2026 — June 18, 2026, 8:30 AM-4:30 PM. At INTERFACE 2026
At INTERFACE 2026, we convene Best-in-Breed solutions — hardware and software tested in the wild — alongside the experts who implement and govern them: local practitioners, regional organizations, and seasoned scholars. Register at F2 Events.
- Events — See the SDSUG Events page for all upcoming events.
3. Community Updates
(Institutional milestones, announcements, new pages, leadership notes.)
- Silver Anniversary Message Published
SDSUG’s Silver Anniversary Message is now live — and in a quiet but meaningful coincidence, it became the fiftieth page in our modern archive. A small sign of the decades still ahead, and for the one who will write the Golden Anniversary Message in our fiftieth year. [Silver Anniversary Message.]
- New Conference and Event Alliances Page
SDSUG has published a new page outlining our long‑standing presence across Arizona’s cybersecurity conferences and events. [Conference and Event Alliances]
4. Opportunities and Calls for Participation
(Training, CFPs, volunteer roles, partner opportunities.)
- Booth Volunteers Needed — SDSUG is seeking volunteers to help staff our booth at upcoming conferences and events. This is a low‑lift, high‑impact way to support the community and meet practitioners across Arizona. [Volunteer Opportunities]
- Call for Papers (CFP) Open: [Submit an Article or Paper]
- Volunteer Opportunities SDSUG now offers clearly defined, low‑lift volunteer roles for members who want to support events, operations, and community stewardship. Participation is flexible and open to all practitioners. [Volunteer Opportunities]
5. Highlights from the Community
Contact us to send your news, and we will publish it and celebrate your wins here.
- Member achievements
- Partner announcements
- Notable contributions
- Community spotlights
6. Quick Links
- SDSUG Official Site
- Events
- Membership
- Conference and Event Alliances
- Silver Anniversary Message
- Contact
7. SDSUG Team
| TITLE | NAME |
| Founder | Leo J. Hauguel |
| President | Hunter Storm |
| Vice President | Debbie Christofferson |
| Membership Chair | Brian Simper |
| Technical Steward (Infrastructure and Continuity) | David Garretson |
| Moderator / Senior Technical Steward – Network & Systems Architecture | Ken Diliberto |
| Advanced Threat & Incident Response Architect (ATIRA) | Erik Graham |
| Safety and Protective Officer Lead | Brad Battaglia |
| Safety and Protective Officer | Lukas Janczewski |
| Safety and Protective Officer | Anthony Kinsey |
| Social Media Director | Ranjani Venkatakrishnan |
| Web Developer | Bruce Holland |
| Welcome Ambassador | Margaret Diliberto |
Sonoran Desert Security (SDSUG) is Arizona’s longest‑running cybersecurity community and a central institution in the region’s security ecosystem. Established in 2001 and operating continuously for more than 25 years, Sonoran Desert Security (SDSUG) provides practitioner‑led leadership, vendor‑neutral governance, and trusted peer collaboration across the Southwest. Through its annual research, ecosystem mapping, and community programs, Sonoran Desert Security (SDSUG) strengthens regional resilience and serves as a stable anchor for Arizona’s cybersecurity practitioners, organizations, and critical infrastructure partners. Sonoran Desert Security (SDSUG) also publishes independent research used by organizations and policymakers across Arizona, the broader Southwest, and national and international security, technology, and governance communities.
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