Event Overview
As digital transformation accelerates, with over 500 million internet users and increasing cloud adoption, the region has become a prime target for cybercriminals. Organizations across banking, telecom, healthcare, energy, and government sectors face an alarming surge in ransomware, phishing, data breaches, and supply chain attacks, leading to billions in economic losses and operational disruptions. Africa’s cybersecurity landscape is complex and evolving, driven by rapid digitalization, regulatory developments, and emerging threats. Ransomware groups and state-sponsored actors are targeting critical infrastructure, exploiting weak security frameworks, outdated systems, and low cybersecurity awareness.
The Cybersecurity Summit: Africa 2026 is the premier event for enterprise security leaders, policymakers, and technology pioneers committed to strengthening Africa’s cyber resilience. This summit will bring together top cybersecurity experts to explore AI-driven threat detection, cloud security, cyber threat intelligence sharing, social engineering defenses, and evolving regulatory frameworks. Attendees will gain actionable insights, best practices, and strategic roadmaps to navigate Africa’s dynamic threat landscape, mitigate risks, and fortify their cybersecurity infrastructure for the future.
Advisors
Guiding Our Summit With Industry Expertise
Corradino Corradi
Dr. Bharath Soni
Renaldo Jack
Renaldo J
Our Summit Advisory Committee comprises industry visionaries whose guidance ensures the conference programs remain relevant, cutting-edge, and aligned with the most pressing cybersecurity challenges and opportunities – enabling attendees to apply the insights and learnings to their daily work.
Deidre Marais
Dr. Bharath Soni
Anna Collard
Tunde Dada
Renaldo Jack
Mojalefa Moffamere
Grant Hughes
Hanniel Jafaru
Femi Olofintila M
Speakers
Thought Leaders on Stage Leading Deep-Dive Discussions
ISMG Summits bring the foremost thought leaders and educators in the security space to the stage, interactive workshops and networking events. Learn from the “who’s who” in cybersecurity passionate about the latest tools and technology to defend against threats.
Agenda Highlights
- The Enemy Within- Tackling Insider Risks
- AI vs AI: How AI Can be Used to Fight Against AI Attacks
- Managing Vendor Risks Beyond the Contract
- Cloud Security with Zero Trust
- Smart Cloud Strategies: Balancing Cost Reduction with Peak Performance
09:00 am – 9:20 AM SAST
Keynote: AI, Automation and the Future of Cybersecurity Careers in Africa
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape faster than any previous wave of technology.
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.
Deidre Marais
CISO, Western Cape Government, and ISC2 Cape Town Chapter Advisory Board Member
Kirsty Kelly
Group CISO, CFC, EMEA
Hemant Baidwan
CISO, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Deidre Marais
Keynote: AI, Automation and the Future of Cybersecurity Careers in 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.
Deidre Marais, CISO, Western Cape Government, and ISC2 Cape Town Chapter Advisory Board Member
Mojalefa Moffamere
Corradino Corradi
Fireside Chat: Fighting Fire with Fire: Defending Against AI With Advanced Intelligence
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.
Mojalefa Moffamere, Network,Security and Telephony Manager, Assupol
Corradino Corradi, General Manager, Information Security Strategy, Architecture and Technical Excellence, MTN
Anna Collard
Attention Is the New Perimeter: Strengthening Security Culture With Cognitive Resilience
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.
Anna Collard, Senior Vice President of Content Strategy and Evangelist, KnowBe4 Africa
10:05 AM - 10:20 AM SAST
Networking break
Dr. Bharath Soni
The CISO's Boardroom Playbook: Communicating Cyber Risk to Executives
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.
Bharat Soni, CISO and DPO, GT Bank
Tunde Dada
Securing LLMs in the Enterprise: Managing Risk Without Slowing Innovation
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.
This session will cover:
- 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.
Tunde Dada, Group CIO/BCM, inq. digital Group
Renaldo Jack
Grant Hughes
Fireside chat: AI in Zero Trust: Hope, Hype and Hidden Gaps
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.
Renaldo Jack, Group Head, Cybersecurity, Globeleq
Grant Hughes, CISO, GVW Group
Harrison Nnaji
Fighting Bank Fraud at Scale by Building Intelligence-Driven Cyber Defenses
In this session, Harrison Nnaji, CISO at First Bank of Nigeria, will shares how the bank is rethinking its cybersecurity posture by blending threat intelligence, fraud analytics and inter-industry collaboration to preempt high-velocity, large-scale attacks.
This session will cover:
- How banks can integrate fraud detection and cyber threat intelligence to proactively disrupt fraud operations;
- Strategies for mitigating risks from internal actors and psychologically sophisticated attack vectors;
- Lessons on working with telecoms, regulators and fintechs to build collective defense against fraud syndicates.
Harrison Nnaji, CISO, First Bank of Nigeria
Hanniel Jafaru
Managing Vendor Risks Beyond the Contract
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.
This session will cover:
- 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
Hanniel Jafaru, Founder and Executive Director of HTC Academy
Femi Olofintila M
Sodiq Bello
Igboa Abumere
Sodiq Bello
Panel: Future-Proof Cloud Security: Leadership Strategies for Emerging Threats
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.
Femi Olofintila M, Cyber Risk, Compliance and Data Privacy SME, Reliance Home Comfort
Sodiq Bello, CISO and DPO, Lotus Bank
Igboa Abumere, CISO and DPO, Stanbic IBTC PLC
12:20 PM - 12:30 PM SAST
Closing Comments
The event will be simulive on August 7, 2025 (9:00 am – 2:00 pm) and available on demand until the end of Day, August 7, 2025.
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CPE Credits
ISMG Summits offer Continuing Professional Education Credits. Learn informative and engaging content created specifically for security professionals.