Today, in the age of quantum threats, AI and sophisticated digital manipulations, the question is: where does the human factor end, and where does technology begin?
This reality, primarily in the context of cybersecurity, will be discussed at the Span Cyber Security Arena conference, which will be held in Opatija, May 19-21. After last year’s conference gathered more than 500 visitors in Zagreb in just one day, this year’s three-day edition brings more than 30 hours of content and over 40 speakers.
Top cybersecurity experts
The conference will be opened by world-renowned cybersecurity experts Ira Winkler and Martin Svik. Ira Winkler is also known as the “modern James Bond” due to his innovative espionage simulations that have helped leading global organizations strengthen their information security. Guided by his frequent saying that we cannot fix stupidity, but we can prevent it from leading to disaster, Winkler will focus on the importance of designing security systems that take human errors into account and proactively prevent them.
The topic that Martin Svik, the CTO for Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe at IBM, will present on the Span Arena stage will be the quantum future. Specifically, when quantum computers become powerful enough, they could break the encryption that protects our bank accounts, emails, and state secrets today. Spoiler alert – this scenario does not bring much good, but now is the right time to prepare.
Among the prominent speakers from the IT and cybersecurity fields at this year’s conference will be American cybersecurity expert Andy Thompson, who will address the development of agent-based artificial intelligence that independently makes decisions and takes actions, playing an increasingly important role in cyber-attacks and defense against them.
Robin Sommer will take the audience deeper into the Zeek tool, which has evolved from a research tool for enthusiasts into a key technology for advanced network defense worldwide. The Span Arena will also gather domestic forces in the field of cybersecurity. Span experts Neven Zitek, Ana Buljubašić, and Ivan Vrljić will explain how to view infrastructure, assets, and even the very foundation of business from the perspective of cyber threats.
The second part of the program will focus on the legislative framework, which is also extremely important in the field of cybersecurity. Miroslav Kota and Domagoj Javorović from the Information Systems Security Bureau will provide concrete guidelines on how legal norms shape our everyday digital world, while Lucia Ana Tomić, Head of HR and Regulatory Affairs at Wiener Insurance, will explain how organizations can survive in a world that constantly changes the rules of the game.
The importance and impact of the Span Cyber Security Arena have been recognized by renowned world experts who have already participated in the conference. Thus, one of the stars of last year’s event, Austrian lawyer and activist Max Schrems, whose lawsuit against Facebook in Ireland almost ten years ago dismantled the legal framework for data exchange between companies in the EU and the US, is returning to Croatia.
Schrems will speak at the conference about the future of data protection in the EU and provide guidelines on how we can advocate for greater privacy rights. Alongside him, Jorge de Almeida Pinto will reveal to visitors why recovery after ransomware attacks on Active Directory and Entra ID systems often leaves organizations equally vulnerable and how to prevent this with timely analysis and precautionary measures.
Paula Januszkiewicz, a world-renowned expert with access to the Windows source code, is also returning to the conference. She will show attendees how to protect Active Directory from the most dangerous threats and hold an exclusive two-day masterclass.
Geopolitical challenges shape security
It is almost clear to everyone that cybersecurity is influenced by the current geopolitical context and the conflicts and uncertainties it brings. Robin Dimyanoglu will address the question of how to strengthen security in increasingly unpredictable times, explaining how national policies shape cyber threats and providing guidelines for analyzing the impact of global factors on cyber operations.
Span Cyber Security Arena gathers domestic and world experts and covers various topics in the field of cybersecurity, law, and regulations. It is also important to approach cybersecurity from a communication perspective.
Cyber-attacks pose a significant risk to the reputation of an organization, as Partner and Director at Val group Mario Aunedi Medek will show, using the example of communication in the first 24 hours of a ransomware attack when reputation is either preserved or irreversibly lost. If you want to be part of this three-day conference, visit the website and hurry to get your ticket.
