Second Annual · Whitefish, Montana · Glacier Country
Whitefish
Security
Summit
2027
“Rings of Disruption: The 2027 Threat Landscape”
2027 Threat Actor Framework
The Rings of Disruption
WSS 2027 organizes the global threat landscape around concentric rings of disruption — from near-peer state competitors reshaping the international order, to rogue actors whose asymmetric capabilities punch far above their geopolitical weight.
Inner Ring · Existential Competition
Near-Peer Competitors
China
Russia
Outer Ring · Regional Disruption
Rogue State Actors
North Korea
Iran
Featured Speakers
Voices That Define the Debate
WSS 2027 convenes practitioners, operators, and analysts whose work sits at the hard edge of national security. No green-room speeches. No think-tank boilerplate. The people who’ve been in the room where it happened.
Confirmed Keynote
Executive Director, International Spy Museum · Former NSC
Chris Costa
Executive Director of the International Spy Museum and 35-year veteran of the Department of Defense. Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council. He ran intelligence and special operations across Panama, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, earning two Bronze Stars for sensitive human intelligence work. Inducted into the U.S. Special Operations Commando Hall of Honor in 2013.
Staff Writer, National Security · The Atlantic
Nancy Youssef
Staff writer at The Atlantic covering national security and the Defense Department, formerly national security correspondent at The Wall Street Journal. A two-decade veteran of frontline reporting from Iraq, Afghanistan, and across the Middle East, she founded the Pentagon Press Association and is a recipient of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence in journalism. Fluent in Arabic.
Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.) · SEAL · Former JSOC
Matt Burns
Enlisted in the Navy in 1988 and graduated BUD/S Class 158 before commissioning through the Seaman to Admiral program. A career Naval Special Warfare officer, he commanded Naval Special Warfare Development Group and multiple Joint Special Operations Task Forces. Served as J3 and deputy J3 at Joint Special Operations Command, and completed his flag officer career as Assistant Commander, JSOC. Holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School.
Lt. General, USMC (Ret.) · Commander, MARCENT
Sam Mundy
Retired after 38 years as a Marine infantry officer, most recently as Commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command (MARCENT), overseeing all Marine operations across the Middle East. Previously commanded Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC). Established U.S. Central Command (Forward) Headquarters in Riyadh in the wake of the Abqaiq and Khurais attacks. Studied foreign policy at the Brookings Institution and served as Director of the Marine Corps Senate Liaison Office.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia · CSIS Senior Adviser
Michael Ratney
Thirty-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, most recently as U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Served as U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Israel, and Consul General in Jerusalem. Postings across Baghdad, Beirut, Doha, Casablanca, and beyond. Taught leadership at the National Defense University and served as Dean of the State Department’s School of Language Studies. Speaks Arabic and French. Now a non-resident Senior Adviser at CSIS.
Executive Director, Vandenberg Coalition · Wilson Center Fellow
Carrie Filipetti
Executive Director of the Vandenberg Coalition, the nonpartisan foreign policy organization she built from concept to a nationally recognized institution. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Cuba and Venezuela and Deputy Special Representative for Venezuela, for which she received the State Department’s Superior Honor Award. Previously a Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley at the United Nations. Distinguished Fellow at the Wilson Center.
Full Program
Three Days. Fourteen Panels.
Draft agenda — subject to change without notice. Panel topics, sequencing, and speakers may be updated as the program develops.
01
Day One · 4 Panels
Wednesday, February 24
10:00 AM
Black File
Operator’s Room: China’s Gray Zone Playbook
Concurrent with general registration · VIP check-in at door · 60 min
10:00 AM
Registration
General Attendee Check-In & Orientation
60 min
11:00 AM
Welcome
Opening Remarks
15 min
11:15 AM
Keynote
Opening Keynote — Chris Costa
50 min
12:10 PM
Panel 1
Rings of Disruption: The 2027 Threat Landscape
75 min
1:25 PM
Lunch
Lunch — Provided
60 min
2:30 PM
Panel 2
NATO at the Crossroads: Reorganizing for Russian Aggression Without American Cover
75 min
3:45 PM
Break
Break
10 min
3:55 PM
Panel 3
Rare Earths and the Chokehold: China’s Resource Leverage
75 min
5:10 PM
Break
Break
10 min
5:20 PM
Panel 4
The Axis of Resistance: Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Architecture of Regional Disruption
60 min
6:20 PM
Evening
End of Formal Program — Networking & Whitefish Nightlife
On your own
02
Day Two · 5 Panels
Thursday, February 25
9:00 AM
Black File
Operator’s Room: Economic Warfare and Covert Influence
Concurrent with Green File networking · 60 min
9:00 AM
Networking
Green File Morning Networking
60 min
10:00 AM
Panel 5
Gray Zone Dominance: Cyber Operations in the Space Between Peace and War
75 min
11:15 AM
Panel 6
Beijing’s Outer Ring: North Korea, Africa, and the Instruments of Indirect Power
75 min
12:30 PM
Lunch
Lunch — Provided
60 min
1:35 PM
Featured Speaker
To Be Announced
50 min
2:30 PM
Panel 7
Russia’s War Machine: Adaptation, Attrition, and the Post-Ukraine Military
75 min
3:45 PM
Break
Break
10 min
3:55 PM
Panel 8
Economic Warfare: Sanctions, Supply Chains, and the Weaponization of Interdependence
75 min
5:15 PM
Panel 9
The Race to AGI: Who’s in the Lead?
75 min
6:30 PM
Evening
End of Formal Program — Networking & Whitefish Nightlife
On your own
03
Day Three · 5 Panels
Friday, February 26
9:00 AM
Black File
Operator’s Room: Russia’s Hybrid Warfare and Unconventional Toolkit
Concurrent with Green File networking · 60 min
9:00 AM
Networking
Green File Morning Networking
60 min
10:00 AM
Panel 10
Asymmetric Threats and the Democratization of Destruction
75 min
11:15 AM
Panel 11
The Arctic: Last Frontier, First Battlefield
75 min
12:30 PM
Lunch
Lunch — Provided
60 min
1:35 PM
Featured Speaker
To Be Announced
50 min
2:30 PM
Panel 12
Soft Power and the Humanitarian Imperative: Aid as Strategic Instrument
75 min
3:45 PM
Break
Break
10 min
3:55 PM
Panel 13
The Intelligence Community at an Inflection Point
75 min
5:15 PM
Panel 14
Iran’s Axis of Disruption: Proxies, Missiles, and the Nuclear Threshold
75 min
6:30 PM
Evening
End of Formal Program — Networking & Whitefish Nightlife
On your own
Black File Only
Operator’s Room · Closed Breakout Sessions
Off-record. Small group. No recordings. Available exclusively to Black File pass holders.
Wed
China’s Gray Zone Playbook
Thu
Economic Warfare and Covert Influence
Fri
Russia’s Hybrid Warfare and Unconventional Toolkit
Registration
Secure Your Position
200 seats total. No exceptions. Early bird pricing — 20% off, limited to 40 tickets — closes when they’re gone.
Early Bird Available
Green File Pass
Standard Access
$800
$640 early
Standard · Early Bird saves $160
- ◆ Three-day access to all panels and featured talks
- ◆ Box lunches and refreshments
- ◆ Morning PT
- ◆ Summit program and materials
Early Bird Available
Black File Pass
Full Access
$1,600
$1,280 early
Premium · Early Bird saves $320
- ◆ Everything in the Green File
- ◆ Three Operator’s Room breakout sessions
- ◆ Invitation to Vespers with the founders
- ◆ 2027 WSS official planner
Early Bird · Limited to 40 Tickets
20% discount applied automatically at checkout for the first 40 registrants — 20 Green File, 20 Black File. Standard pricing takes effect immediately after. Summit capacity is capped at 200 total attendees.
About the Summit
A Forum Built for the Conversations That Matter
The Whitefish Security Summit returns for its second annual gathering — convening senior leaders in defense, intelligence, geopolitics, and security innovation for three days of frank, substantive conversation in the unspoiled clarity of Glacier Country, Montana.
No vendor booths. No political theater. No green-room speeches. Just the decision-makers, operators, and thinkers whose work defines how America and its allies navigate an era of consequential risk — in the same room, away from the noise of their capitals.
Organized in partnership with the Lobo Institute.
Defense & Intelligence
Senior military leaders and intelligence officers engaging the hard problems at the classified seam.
Geopolitics & Statecraft
Diplomats and strategic thinkers examining great-power competition and the fracturing international order.
Technology & Warfare
From autonomous systems and AI to cyber operations — practitioners reshaping the character of modern conflict.
Private Sector
Executives, investors, and founders whose work at the intersection of security and commerce drives the enterprise forward.