<ul data-eligibleForWebStory="true">ShowMeCon 2025, held in St. Charles, focused on security, compliance, and risk management discussions.Key themes included the importance of context, rigor, and adaptive posture in real security practices.Jeff Man highlighted the evolution of PCI compliance, emphasizing the need for continuous security operations beyond mere compliance.Dan Yarger discussed the role of AI in policy creation, emphasizing human oversight and validation.Tim Malcolm-Vetter emphasized the importance of fundamentals over flashy AI models in cybersecurity defense.The event underscored the message that compliance should serve as a foundation for security, with continuous, adaptive measures built around it.Practitioners were urged to focus on operationalizing controls, identity threat detection, and the dual nature of AI as both a partner and a threat.The sessions stressed the need for teamwork, continuous enforcement, and merging policy with security practices for operational resilience.A forward-thinking approach involves viewing compliance as a scaffold rather than a fortress, aiming for real-time security readiness and response.The call to action is to shift focus from mere compliance to ensuring current security effectiveness and readiness.