2025-08-05 –, Tuscany
In this engaging session, Dave will explore how organizations can go beyond resilience to create anti-fragile systems—cybersecurity strategies that not only survive but thrive under unexpected disruptions like black swan events.
Drawing on real-world examples, including the infamous WannaCry ransomware attack, he’ll cover:
The concept of anti-fragility and its relevance to cybersecurity in 2025.
Why basic security hygiene—especially password management—remains critical.
Practical steps like implementing MFA, extended access management, using password managers, and fostering cybersecurity awareness to reduce breach risks.
Don’t miss this opportunity to gain practical guidance and valuable insights into preparing your organization for the ever-evolving threat landscape.
Dumpster fires litter the virtual landscape defined by unpredictability and accelerating digital threats, cybersecurity must evolve beyond traditional notions of resilience. In this compelling session, Dave Lewis explores how organizations can move past merely withstanding disruption to actively benefiting from it by building anti-fragile cybersecurity systems. Borrowing from the work of Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Dave will introduce the concept of anti-fragility—the idea that certain systems grow stronger when exposed to volatility, shocks, and stressors—and examine its practical relevance in today’s cybersecurity landscape.
Through vivid real-world examples, including a deep dive into the global impact and lessons learned from the WannaCry ransomware attack, Dave will illustrate how black swan events can expose critical systemic weaknesses—but also create opportunities to reimagine how we defend our digital environments. He will argue that while advanced security solutions play a role, it’s the foundational elements—such as password management, widespread adoption of multi-factor authentication, and a culture of cyber awareness—that often make the difference between a breach and a bullet dodged.
This session is designed to equip security professionals, technical leaders, and business stakeholders with actionable guidance to help their organizations not just survive the next unexpected crisis, but emerge stronger because of it. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of anti-fragile principles and how to apply them to create cybersecurity programs that are not just reactive or robust, but dynamically adaptive in the face of chaos.
Dave has 30 years of industry experience. He has extensive experience in IT security operations and management. Dave is the Global Advisory CISO for 1Password.
He is the founder of the security site Liquidmatrix Security Digest & podcast. He was a member of the board of directors for BSides Las Vegas for 8 years. He currently serves on the advisory boards of Byos.io and Knostic.ai. Dave has previously worked in critical infrastructure for 9 years as well as for companies such as Duo Security, Akamai, Cisco, AMD and IBM. Previously he served on the board of directors for (ISC)2 as well as being a founder of the BSides Toronto conference.
Dave was a DEF CON speaker operations goon for 13 years. Lewis also serves on the advisory boards for the Black Hat Sector Security Conference in Canada, and the CFP review board for 44CON in the UK. Dave has previously written columns for Forbes, CSO Online, Huffington Post, The Daily Swig and others.
For fun he is a curator of small mammals (his kids) plays bass guitar, grills, is part owner of a whisky distillery and a soccer team.