Ismael Valenzuela is the Vice President, Threat Intelligence Research at Arctic Wolf, where he leads advanced research focused on tracking adversaries, uncovering emerging threats, and helping organizations build proactive, defensible security strategies. With 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, Ismael is also a Senior Instructor and the author of SEC530: Defensible Security Architecture and Engineering at the SANS Institute, where he has trained thousands of security professionals globally. In 2025, Ismael also serves as a co-chair of a new advisory panel under the international Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI), focused on enhancing public-private collaboration to combat ransomware through intelligence sharing, joint disruption efforts, and policy innovation.