Cloud Security Alliance Expands Frontier AI Leadership with New Research and Community Partnerships

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) announced two strategic partnerships on Aug. 4, 2026, naming the Nevada Institute of Cybersecurity at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV NIC) as a key research and academic partner and collaborating with RSAC to launch the AI Vulnerability Storm Summit. The partnerships aim to accelerate trusted AI adoption by connecting academia, industry, and regional communities, with UNLV researchers contributing to initiatives like the AI Resilience Center of Excellence and the Catastrophic Risk Annex.

CSA Official Press Release Published 08/04/2026 Cloud Security Alliance Expands Frontier AI Leadership with New Research and Community Partnerships Nevada Institute of Cybersecurity at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas named as key research and academic partner; RSAC to back strategic AI summit program for CSA chapters and partners LAS VEGAS – Aug. 4, 2026 – Today, the Cloud Security Alliance CSA https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/ , the world's leading not-for-profit organization committed to AI, cloud, and Zero Trust cybersecurity education, today announced two strategic partnerships designed to accelerate industry collaboration and advance trusted AI adoption. The Nevada Institute of Cybersecurity at UNLV https://www.unlv.edu/cybersecurity UNLV NIC has joined the CSAI Foundation http://www.csai.foundation as a key research and academic partner, while RSAC https://www.rsaconference.com/ will work with CSA and the CSAI Foundation to launch the AI Vulnerability Storm Summit https://airtable.com/appZnEzwBda493De4/pagbc6xrz0LaVjzbo/form , a strategic research and summit program designed to share meaningful AI research and education through community engagement. Together, the partnerships strengthen CSA and the CSAI Foundation’s commitment to connecting research, industry expertise, and boots-on-the-ground practitioners to address the rapidly evolving security, governance, and resilience challenges associated with artificial intelligence. “As AI adoption accelerates, it's imperative that organizations are able to collaborate and learn from trusted research and practical guidance,” said Jim Reavis, CEO and co-founder, Cloud Security Alliance. “These partnerships expand our ability to bring together academia, industry, and regional communities to advance AI security and resilience at a global scale.” As CSA's key research and academic partner, researchers from UNLV will collaborate on research initiatives, educational programs, and thought leadership designed to help organizations of all sizes better understand and address the technical, governance, and operational challenges of AI. The partnership will support the development of programs such as the AI Resilience Center of Excellence https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/csai-foundation/ai-resilience-center-of-excellence , the Catastrophic Risk Annex https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/csai-foundation/catastrophic-risk-annex research initiative underwritten by Coefficient Giving, executive education for building AI-first cybersecurity programs and expanding the UNLV NIC Cyber Clinic for community AI security and safety assistance. “Research and education are essential to navigating an AI landscape evolving at lightning speed,” said Dr. Juyeon Jo, Ph.D., Founding Executive Director of UNLV’s Nevada Institute of Cybersecurity NIC . “Through this partnership—driven by close collaboration with Dr. Greg Moody, Ph.D., NIC’s Director of Industry Partnerships—we’re excited to work alongside the Cloud Security Alliance and the CSAI Foundation to bridge academic research with real-world security challenges, delivering practical insights that help organizations innovate with confidence.” Strengthening AI readiness through community engagement Through its partnership with CSA and CSAI, RSAC is lending its leadership and experience to the AI Vulnerability Storm Summit, a strategic program that will enable CSA chapters and partner organizations to organize and host AI summits tailored to their local communities. The program will provide participating organizations with guidance, resources, and programming designed to foster collaboration among cybersecurity practitioners, business leaders, policymakers, researchers, and technology providers, and include a chapter starter kit and facilitator request form https://airtable.com/appZnEzwBda493De4/pagbc6xrz0LaVjzbo/form . Each summit’s proceedings will be anonymized and fed back into research to benefit the industry at-large. By expanding access to high-quality AI events, the program will help regional communities share best practices, explore emerging challenges, and strengthen collaboration around AI governance, security, and resilience. “We believe meaningful progress happens when communities come together to share knowledge and practical experience,” said Jen Easterly, CEO, RSAC. “Partnering with CSA to empower chapters and partners to host their own AI summits will help bring these important conversations to more organizations and regions around the world.” With this announcement, RSAC is strengthening an already robust working partnership with CSA, having co-authored the Hugging Face Incident Initial Post-Mortem https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/artifacts/hugging-face-ciso-post-mortem and The “AI Vulnerability Storm”: Building a “Mythos-ready” Security Program https://labs.cloudsecurityalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/mythosreadyv1.0.pdf reports. The partnerships with RSAC and UNLV’s Nevada Institute of Cybersecurity were announced at the Weathering the Storm: Cybersecurity in the AI Era summit https://rsaconference.registration.goldcast.io/events/48510838-7737-450d-b7f2-5c2e4d73fbe2 , which they co-hosted. Learn more about the AI Vulnerability Storm Summit program https://airtable.com/appZnEzwBda493De4/pagbc6xrz0LaVjzbo/form , the CSAI Foundation http://www.csai.foundation , and other groundbreaking initiatives. About the Nevada Institute of Cybersecurity at UNLV The NIC serves as UNLV’s centralized, interdisciplinary hub for cybersecurity research, education, workforce development and community engagement – advancing capabilities that are academically rigorous and aligned with Nevada’s needs. Building upon the university’s nationally recognized Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense designation by the National Security Agency NSA , the NIC brings together faculty, students, government partners and industry collaborators to develop cybersecurity solutions that address real-world challenges across critical infrastructure, emerging technologies, and digital resilience. Visit https://www.unlv.edu/cybersecurity/ https://www.unlv.edu/cybersecurity/ for more information. About RSAC As the cybersecurity industry's convening authority, RSAC brings together diverse minds to exchange perspectives, knowledge, and ideas—providing a year-round platform for uniting and advancing the cybersecurity community with the goal of creating a safer society. At the cutting edge of innovation and education, RSAC's flagship event, RSAC™ Conference, stands as the largest and most influential global gathering in cybersecurity, giving professionals a place to connect, grow, and shape the future of the field. To learn more, visit www.OneRSAC.com http://www.onersac.com . About CSAI Foundation CSAI is a 501 c 3 non-profit foundation launched by the Cloud Security Alliance, dedicated exclusively to AI security and safety. With a 2026 mission of Securing the Agentic Control Plane, CSAI delivers integrated programs spanning risk intelligence, operational best practices, professional and agent certification, executive collaboration, global assurance, and forward-looking research to govern the autonomous AI economy. Visit www.CSAI.foundation http://www.csai.foundation . About Cloud Security Alliance The Cloud Security Alliance CSA is the world’s leading not-for-profit organization committed to awareness, practical implementation, and credentialing of forward-looking cybersecurity topics, including AI, cloud, and Zero Trust. In an era where digital transformation drives business success, CSA stands as the global authority ensuring organizations can operate securely while harnessing cutting-edge technology. Through the 501 c 3 CSAI Foundation, volunteer-driven research, globally-accepted standards, and award-winning vendor-neutral education programs that unite varied associations, governments, chapters, and corporate members, CSA bridges the gap between innovation and pragmatic security execution. Visit CSA’s website https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/ to learn more. Media Contact Kristina Rundquist ZAG Communications for the CSA email protected /cdn-cgi/l/email-protection 0368716a70776a6d6243796264606c6e6e766d6a6062776a6c6d702d606c6e About Cloud Security Alliance The Cloud Security Alliance is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to promote the use of best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing, and to provide education on the uses of Cloud Computing to help secure all other forms of computing. The Cloud Security Alliance is led by a broad coalition of industry practitioners, corporations, associations and other key stakeholders. For further information, follow us on Twitter @cloudsa. For press inquiries, email Zenobia Godschalk /cdn-cgi/l/email-protection 156f707b7a777c74556f7472767a7878607b7c7674617c7a7b663b767a78 of ZAG Communications or reach her by phone at 650.269.8315.