Cybersecurity Summit: Africa

From automating detection and response to generating sophisticated attacks, AI is both a powerful tool and a formidable disruptor. For African enterprises and governments, this transformation raises urgent questions: Will automation deepen the cybersecurity talent gap? Which roles are most at risk of being augmented or eliminated? How can regulation, policy and upskilling ensure that the workforce evolves alongside the technology? This keynote will address strategies to future-proof careers, build sustainable talent pipelines and balance innovation with responsible governance.

This session will cover:

• How AI-driven tools are changing the skills mix and redefining cybersecurity roles across African industries;
• Strategies for upskilling, re-skilling and developing talent to thrive in an AI-augmented security environment;
• Why African regulators and industry leaders must collaborate to create frameworks that protect both security and livelihoods.

But can defensive AI truly outsmart offensive AI, or are we entering an arms race with unpredictable consequences? This session will explore the evolving landscape of AI-powered cybersecurity, weighing the opportunities and risks of using machine intelligence to detect, defend and respond in real time.

This session will cover:

• Examining how offensive AI is transforming the threat landscape through automation, obfuscation and scale;
• Exploring how defensive AI can be deployed to accelerate detection, reduce response time and anticipate attack patterns;
• The strategic, ethical and operational implications of an AI vs. AI security paradigm, and what it means for enterprise defense planning.

As threat actors exploit our attention and emotions, it’s time we reframe our human defense strategies.

This session introduces a modern, science-based approach to security culture: one that moves beyond awareness into actionable resilience. Drawing from cyber psychology and behavioral science, we’ll explore how cultivating digital mindfulness can interrupt habitual mistakes, improve decision-making and foster a more vigilant workforce.

Rather than blaming users, the session introduces a constructive and empowering model to build cognitive resilience – treating attention as the new perimeter in your layered defense strategy.

This session will cover:

• Embedding cognitive resilience into your security culture;
• Applying security-in-depth thinking to the human layer;
• Why attention hygiene is becoming as critical as password hygiene.

This session will explore how security leaders can effectively communicate cyber risk in business terms, align cybersecurity KPIs with enterprise goals and build boardroom confidence during periods of economic uncertainty. Attendees will learn how to shift conversations from vulnerabilities and tools to resilience, risk appetite and long-term value creation while securing critical investment in cybersecurity initiatives.

This session will cover:

• Translating technical risk into business impact for African boards;
• Aligning cybersecurity KPIs with business objectives;
• Making the case for investment in cybersecurity during economic volatility.

But with new opportunities come new risks: data leakage, prompt injection, unauthorized access and compliance gaps. This session will guide CISOs and IT leaders through the evolving threat landscape of enterprise LLMs, offering practical strategies for securing models, controlling access and aligning deployments with internal policies and regulatory requirements. Whether you’re piloting gen AI or scaling adoption, this session will help you build safely and responsibly.

• How prompt injection, model manipulation and data exposure can compromise enterprise LLM deployments;
• Exploring frameworks for access controls, usage monitoring and internal policy enforcement around gen AI tools;
• Securing LLM pipelines – from data inputs and APIs to model hosting environments and third-party integrations.

CISOs see AI as a “basket of opportunities” with plenty of “vendor blind spots.

This session will cover:

• How CISOs can cut through the vendor hype around AI;
• Why AI-driven zero trust fails without architecture alignment;
• Where should CISOs draw the line between AI autonomy and oversight.

As high-profile breaches involving vendors become more common, enterprises must develop a continuous, risk-based approach to vendor management — focusing on real-time monitoring, access governance, compliance auditing, and incident response readiness. This session will explore how organizations can move beyond checklist-based vendor onboarding to build dynamic, proactive vendor risk management programs that safeguard sensitive data, critical operations, and regulatory compliance across complex supply chains.

• What red flags can one look for during vendor onboarding to mitigate fraud risk
• What tools or techniques must be used to detect fraudulent activity post-onboarding
• How can organizations operationalize continuous vendor risk assessment without creating administrative burden

From supply chain compromises to AI-powered attacks, the cloud security landscape is evolving faster than traditional controls can keep up.

Attendees will explore actionable strategies to build resilient, future-ready cloud security programs, while gaining guidance on aligning security architecture with business priorities, managing risk across infrastructure and fostering a culture of continuous security innovation.

This session will cover:

• Evolving tactics being used by adversaries to exploit cloud misconfigurations, supply chains and identity systems;
• How AI-driven detection, automated response and continuous validation can help mitigate sophisticated attacks at scale
• How to communicate cloud security risks and investments to boards and executives to drive alignment and accountability.