With more than 30 years of experience in ransomware and information security, Allan Liska has improved countless organizations’ security posture using more effective intelligence. Liska provides ransomware-related counsel and key recommendations to major global corporations and government agencies, sitting on national ransomware task forces and speaking at global conferences. Liska has worked as both a security practitioner and an ethical hacker at Symantec, iSIGHT Partners, FireEye, and Recorded Future. Regularly cited in The Washington Post, Bloomberg, The New York Times, WIRED and NBC News, he is a leading voice in ransomware and intelligence security. Liska has authored numerous books including “The Practice of Network Security;” Building an Intelligence-Led Security Program; ” “Securing NTP: A Quickstart Guide;” “Ransomware: Defending Against Digital Extortion;” “DNS Security: Defending the Domain Name System;” “Ransomware: Understand.Prevent.Recover.;” and the graphic novels “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar;” “The Press Guardian;” & “Cryptid Hacker Force.”

Anastasiia Voitova has ~15 years of experience in developing secure solutions across multi-platform environments, specialising in data security and applied cryptography. She focuses on how security engineering creates an asymmetric advantage by using proactive controls rather than reactive firefighting, and on why the cybersecurity of mission-critical systems is important for maintaining operational continuity and resilience.

Experienced event host and discussion moderator with a background in radio. I host a wide range of events – both in-person and online, corporate and entertainment – in Latvian and English. For nearly 10 years, I’ve been a radio enthusiast with a focus on technology and the digital world. Creator and producer of the radio show #DigitālāsBrokastis on Latvian Radio 1 and Latvian Radio 6 – Radio Naba. When I’m not on stage or in the studio, I advise brands and organizations on public relations, leveraging hands-on experience across the NGO, private, and public sectors. I earned a Master’s degree in Strategic and Public Relations Management from Rīga Stradiņu University. Before that, I developed a structured and digital mindset through a Bachelor’s degree in IT Project Management at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Computing.

Baiba Kaškina is the General manager of CERT.LV - Latvian National and Governmental CSIRT (since 2011) leading the dynamic work of the team and liaising with the constituencies. She has started the first CERT team in Latvia in 2006 and since then has been involved in shaping the cyber security ecosystem of Latvia as well as internationally. Baiba has been the chair of European CSIRTs collaboration forum TF-CSIRT from 2014-2019. She has received the Order of Three stars from the Republic of Latvia in recognition of her contribution to establish and lead the Latvian cyber security environment.

Bernard Lebel specializes in operational technologies (OT). He has research and field experience in assessing and strengthening the security of the embedded components underlying OT systems. He has led research on the security of wireless communications, critical infrastructures, and heavy machinery (including trucks, agricultural equipment, and energy systems). He conducts penetration testing on OT equipment and acts as a consultant to develop strategies that mitigate attacks on OT components.

Dr. Bernhards Blumbergs is a lead cyber-security expert at the Information Technology Security Incident Response Institution of the Republic of Latvia (CERT.LV) and the former Technology Researcher at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (NATO CCD COE) also the Ambassador of the Centre since 2018. He is the creator and the technical director of the world’s largest and most innovative full-spectrum offensive cyber operation exercise Crossed Swords. He is a certified exploit researcher and advanced penetration tester (GXPN), industrial cyber security professional (GICSP), and response and industrial defense expert (GRID). He has a solid military background, targeted at developing, administering, and securing wide-area information systems. Dr. Blumbergs received his Computer Science PhD degree in Cyber Security from Tallinn Technical University in 2019, with his dissertation on specialized cyber red team responsive computer network operations.

TBC

Dana Ludviga holds a MSc in Computer Science from the University of Latvia and works as the cybersecurity incident analyst at CERT.LV - Latvian national and govermental CSIRT. Dana is coordinating engagement with different stakeholders as well as representing CERT.LV at national and international events.

Before her current role, Dana was a project manager at the .LV registry NIC.LV where she contributed to the development of the domain industry with a keen eye on domain name security. As a computer science researcher at the University of Latvia her work extended to diverse IT research and network development projects funded under the 7th framework of the European Union.

Dmitrijs Ņikitins is a distinguished member of Tet’s board and Chief Technology Officer, who boasts over 15 years of expertise in IT. With a strong foundation in research, development, and technology implementation, he has been instrumental in enterprise digital transformation and agile strategy. Dmitrijs’ multifaceted skill set spans DevOps, software development, network management, and cybersecurity, consistently driving innovation and business elevation.

Over 12 years of experience in IT security, encompassing operations, incident management, service management, process implementation, and security audits. Currently, at ENISA’s Operational Cooperation Unit working closely with Member States on incident reporting and vulnerability management among other issues.

Co-Founder of Sense Cyber Research Center (volunteer-based initiative) and Principal Incident Response Consultant at IBM X-Force, with 7 years of experience in Security Operations, specialising in Incident Response and Threat Intelligence. Extensive experience in the banking sector, having served as an Incident Responder, Detection Engineer, and Manager within a Global SOC.

Successfully led and supported initiatives focused on building incident response capabilities, developing threat intelligence platforms, delivering technical training, and strengthening proactive security services.

Holds industry-recognised certifications including GCTI, GCFA, and GCFR. Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Security Studies, is currently pursuing a Master’s in Cybersecurity, and is a Chevening Fellow (UK Defence Academy).

Eva is the Product Security Engineering Lead at Mattermost, where she oversees Product Security and Security Research. Previously, as Principal Product Security Engineer at Auth0/Okta, she led critical initiatives in Product Security, including the security architecture of key management and the standardization of Threat Modeling processes. She has previously shared her work and insights at BlackHat EU, Real World Crypto, OWASP AppSec IL, among others.

TBC

Gundega Jaunbērziņa-Beitika is the Director of the Latvian National Accreditation Bureau, where she has led transformative reforms in quality infrastructure, compliance, and risk-based decision-making since 2019. Under her leadership, Latvia has reinforced its quality trust architecture and gained cross-border recognition through close collaboration with international accreditation organisations - EA, ILAC, and IAF frameworks. With over 20 years of experience in public administration, including senior leadership roles at the Ministry of Economics, she has shaped Latvia’s engagement in EU and international policy on market access and regulation. Gundega is deeply engaged in integrating AI, low-code tools, and knowledge capital management into institutional leadership, fostering smarter, future-proof governance. Passionate about human - centric leadership that thrives in VUCA conditions, and digitalisation.

I'm an IT student based in Latvia with a passion for IT, cybersecurity and community building. Over the past few years, I’ve been actively involved in strengthening digital competence across Latvia through the student-led tech union “Datoriķi” and Cybersecurity club "KiB." I help organize events like CTFs, hackathons, and coding camps — all designed to make learning tech fun, practical, and inclusive.

One of my proudest projects has been Mārtiņa–CTF!

Beyond organizing and dreaming up chaos, I also work with my hands as the lead of the University of Latvia’s makerspace “DF LAB.” There, I build, prototype, and mentor students in all kinds of digital making — from electronics to code. Whether I’m walking, talking, soldering, or breaking stuff to see how it works, I’m always looking for the next spark.

Katrina Sataki currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of NIC.LV, the country code Top-Level domain of Latvia managed by the Network Solutions Department of the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Latvia. Katrina has been involved with .LV since 1997 when she helped to develop the website and on-line registration form of the registry operator. She also has participated in many meetings organised by European registry operators and has been an active participant of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) community and served as the ccNSO Council chair from 2016-2021. Katrina holds a professional degree in Mathematics, a Master’s degree in Computer Science and a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Latvia. She has participated in several research projects, lectured law students on IT Law and IT students on law and internet governance related issues.

TBC

Dr. Kenneth Geers served for 20 years in the US Government (1993-2013), in the Army, NSA, NCIS, and NATO. He has since worked for numerous cybersecurity firms, including FireEye, Comodo, ZeroFox, and VGS. He was a cybersecurity fellow at Atlantic Council, NATO Cyber Centre, Digital Society Institute-Berlin, and Transatlantic Cyber Forum. He is the author of “Strategic Cyber Security” and “Alliance Power for Cybersecurity“, editor of ”Cyber War in Perspective” and ”The Virtual Battlefield”, and technical expert to the “Tallinn Manual”.

Ivan Milenkovic is a Vice President for Cyber Risk Technology at Qualys, a pioneer and leading provider of disruptive cloud-based IT, security and compliance solutions designed to streamline and consolidate customer’s security and compliance solutions in a single platform. Ivan has over 20 years' experience in aligning complex technology landscapes and fluctuating risks with business objectives. His professional experience includes a Group CISO role in a very large multi-national BPO, running a cyber advisory business and serving on multiple advisory boards. Ivan is also a Certified Information Security Officer (S-CISO®) and an instructor on the CISO2.0 course by SECO Institute.

Jakub Souček is a Senior Malware Researcher at ESET with 10 years of experience in the field. He currently leads ESET’s crimeware research team focused on battling ransomware. He has also managed botnet disruption collaboration efforts with external partners and law enforcement and has experience with APT research as well. Besides that, he focuses on in-depth analysis of malware and long-term tracking of prevalent malware families.

He regularly presents at both local and international conferences. His past speaking experiences include conferences such as Virus Bulletin, Underground Economy, EC3 Cybercrime Conference, and Botconf.

James is a Threat Researcher in Unit 42 @ Palo Alto Networks, where he's a member of a team focusing on APT tracking. Prior to Unit 42, James worked in Red and Blue team roles for the UK Government for 15 years.

Jani Kenttälä has dedicated over two decades of his career to making cyber security accessible for everyone. Leveraging his extensive experience as a security researcher and serial entrepreneur, Jani has consistently pushed the industry boundaries. Recognizing a significant need among small and medium-sized enterprises, he founded Badrap.io, to make cyber security easy for everyone.

Ambassador Janis Karklins currently is Ambassador at Large on UN Global Agenda with responsibilities in cyber and climate diplomacy. He also has served as the Permanent Representative of Latvia to the Council of Europe, the Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations at Geneva (twice), Latvian Ambassador to France, Andorra, Monaco and UNESCO, the Director of the NATO Center of Excellence for Strategic Communications, as well as the Assistant Director General of Communication and Information of UNESCO.

During his first stay in Geneva (2000 - 2007) he presided over the Preparatory Committee of the Tunis Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society. During the second tour in Geneva (2015 - 2020) he chaired the WIPO General Assembly, the UN Economic Commission for Europe, CCW 2018 meeting of High Contracting Parties, the ATT 2019 meeting of the States Parties, and 2020 GGE LAWS in the framework of CCW.

Ambassador Karklins holds an engineering degree from the Riga Technical University and attended an Executive Education Program for Eastern European diplomats at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University.

Jānis Vanags has over 15 years of experience in executive board/senior management positions in aviation, service, retail and health-care industries spanning 30+ markets in the EU, CIS and Middle East. In addition to leadership roles in businesses with up to EUR 900 million annual turnover, Mr. Vanags is additionally an advisor/trainer in emergency management for major international organizations and companies in Europe, Asia and Africa (IATA, United Nations, etc). He has designed, reshaped and implemented Emergency Response Organisations across a range of large aviation/transport, manufacturing, health-care, and service businesses, and he currently liaises with NATO and national defence bodies on resilience issues (strategic reserves; business and military synergies for resilience; hybrid/greyzone threats). Mr.Vanags is a policy group member of Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance, MBA teacher at Estonian Business School, Advisory Board member of Riga Technical University, Steering Committe member of the Aurora Forum, and founder of CIREN – Civilian Resilience Nordic, a North European NGO.

John Strand has both consulted and taught hundreds of organizations in the areas of security, regulatory compliance, and penetration testing. He is a coveted speaker and much loved SANS teacher. John is a contributor to the industry-shaping Penetration Testing Execution Standard and 20 Critical Controls frameworks.

Julia Petryk is CEO & cofounder of Calibrated, a Ukraine-based agency specializing in international communications in defense tech, cybersecurity, and cognitive security. Julia leads the cybersecurity track. She speaks at leading industry events (including InCyber Forum, Cyber Chess, the Disinformation & Democracy Conference, and others) and delivers training in crisis communications during cyber incidents. Julia is the co-founder of the Ukrainian PR Army and founder of Tech PR School. Recognised among the Top 25 PR Innovators in EMEA, recipient of the Future is Female Award by Advertising Week and Warner Bros.

With over 20 years of professional experience in managing cybersecurity projects, penetration testing, and red teaming, he is responsible for developing and executing the business strategy at CLICO. His expertise spans both defensive and offensive security, confirmed by globally recognized certifications such as ISC2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), EC-Council Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO), OffSec Experienced Penetration Tester (OSEP), OffSec Certified Professional (OSCP), and ISO 27001 Auditor. He is also a certified instructor for ISC2 and EC-Council. He holds a Ph.D. in technical sciences from the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, awarded for his research in the field of networked information system security analysis and design. He is the author of numerous articles published in IT magazines and six books on cybersecurity.

TBC

Commander Michael Widmann graduated the US Naval Academy with a BS in economics. He completed two tours in Japan before attending Naval Postgraduate School and earning a MS in Space Systems Operations. Navy tours include: Information Assurance Officer for Strike Force Training Atlantic; Officer in Charge of Afghan National Security Forces Networks and Radios; Assistant Operations Officer at NCTAMS LANT; Staff Officer at the NATO Command and Control Centre of Excellence (COE); and Service Chiefs representative at DARPA. He led the Strategy Branch at the Cooperative Cyber Defense COE where he was honored with the title of NATO CCDCOE Ambassador. Currently, he is the Cyber Operations Branch Chief at NATO’s Maritime command.

I am a dedicated Cybersecurity specialist, specializing in SIEM, intrusion detection, and digital forensics. Proficient in both Linux and Windows ecosystems, I navigate complex security incidents through meticulous logs analysis, threat hunting, and anomaly detection.

As a cybersecurity instructor, I’ve empowered Ukraine’s critical infrastructure professionals through tailored training programs and live scenarios. I sharpen my skills through active participation in CTF competitions.

I’m excited to share insights at the conference and connect with fellow defenders shaping the future of cyber resilience.

Patrick Miller is a trusted independent security and regulatory advisor with over 35 years of experience protecting critical infrastructure. He is the CEO of the global industrial cybersecurity firm AMPYX CYBER, and was one of the original architects and the first regulator of the NERC CIP Standards in North America. He also served as Principal Investigator for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Electric Sector Cybersecurity Organization. Patrick has held key roles across the Energy, Water, Telecommunications, Financial, and Insurance sectors, including with regulatory agencies, asset owners, and consulting firms. A recognized international speaker, he recently testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on Chinese cyber threats to infrastructure. His career is defined by a commitment to advancing resilience, regulatory clarity, and actionable cybersecurity for operational environments.

TBC

Pauls Bračs is an IT and data security specialist currently working as a Cybersecurity Expert at HcSecurity (hcsec.eu). He specializes in security operations, red team exercises, and social engineering campaigns. Pauls holds a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications from Riga Technical University and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification.

A Masters of IT student in University of Latvia, with specialization in Networking and interest in web security. Organized my first CTF two years ago together with the student council of the faculty of computing and have been looking forward to hosting more CTFs.

TBC

Mr. Rolands Henins is the Undersecretary of State – Policy Director in the Latvia’s Ministry of Defence. In this capacity, Mr. Henins is shaping Latvia’s defence policy on both national and international stage, planning and coordinating Latvian National Armed Forces contribution to the international military operations, overseeing the defence planning of military capabilities and crisis management mechanisms.

Since September 1, 2024, Mr. Henins serves as the Director General of the National Cyber Security Centre.

Brigadier-General Scott MacGregor joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1991. After completing University, he joined the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry as a mechanized infantry officer. He has commanded at all tactical levels as a Mechanized Infantry Officer and held key staff positions at the operational and strategic levels.

BGen MacGregor operational deployments include Bosnia, Afghanistan, Israel/West Bank, and Latvia.

He has earned a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Mary’s University, a Master of Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, a Masters of Arts from Royal Roads University and a Master of Science in Information and Cyberspace Studies from the National Defense University, College of Information and Cyberspace. He has two amazing children, a very patient service-spouse, and a beautiful German Sheppard. His favorite leisure activities include travel and spending time with family.

Brigadier-General MacGregor was appointed Deputy Commander, Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command in June 2024.

Soufian El Yadmani is a researcher, ethical hacker, and entrepreneur. In 2024, he co-founded cybersecurity company Modat, where he now serves as CEO. Soufian is also the Head of Research at CSIRT.global, and a PhD researcher at Leiden University, where he focuses on threat actor attribution and hacking automation. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences, including ONE Conference, FS-ISAC, DNV NightWatch, and RISE. His responsible disclosures span organizations like NASA, Porsche, and the Dutch Ministry of Defense.

Stanislav Dashevskyi is a Security Researcher at Forescout. He received his PhD from the International Doctorate School in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at the University of Trento (Italy) in 2017. His main research interests are open source software, software security, and vulnerability analysis.

Swapneel ir galvenais drošības pētnieks un uzņēmuma Shreshta IT Technologies Pvt. Ltd. izpilddirektors — Indijā bāzēts uzņēmums, kas specializējas DNS drošībā un draudu izlūkošanā. Viņš ir vadījis arī tehniskās darbnīcas tiesībsargājošajām iestādēm par kibernoziegumu apkarošanu. Swapneel ir aktīvs runātājs un nesen ir uzstājies daudzās starptautiskās kiberkriminalitātes konferencēs 21 valstī.

Viņam ir 15 gadu pieredze informācijas drošības jomā. Swapneel ir Incidentu reaģēšanas foruma (FIRST) saiknes loceklis un bijis DNS ļaunprātīgas izmantošanas īpašās interešu grupas (SIG) līdzpriekšsēdētājs FIRST organizācijā. Viņš ir bijis arī Indijas Interneta inženierijas biedrības (IIESoc) valdes loceklis. Swapneel brīvprātīgi darbojas kā FIRST treneris, un nesen viņš Kazahstānā vadīja darbnīcu par kiberdraudu izlūkošanas pamatiem. Kopš 2019. gada viņš ir arī APNIC kopienas treneris, vadot tehniskās darbnīcas Butānā, Mjanmā, Papua-Jaungvinejā, Bangladešā, Nepālā un Šrilankā.

Varis Teivāns is a Cyber security expert with 17 years of experience and a strong technical background. He has played a major role in development of the national Cyber security infrastructure, world class incident response capability and full range of Security Operations Center (SOC) services provided by CERT.LV to the Latvian government and critical infrastructure holders. Varis has participated in planning, technical setup, and scenario development of multiple hackfests, large scale Cyber defense exercises and workshops on IT security issues at the CERT.LV organized events. Currently Varis is leading CERT.LV's technical team.

Tony Fergusson is a cybersecurity strategist with over 30 years of experience spanning networking, security, and IT leadership across diverse global industries. Widely recognized for his visionary approach, Tony was among the earliest pioneers of Zero Trust, adopting its principles in real-world environments as early as 2015, well before it became mainstream.

As the first-ever Zscaler customer to deploy Zscaler Private Access, Tony broke new ground by extending Zero Trust to Cloud and operational technology environments. Prior to joining Zscaler, he led a secure cloud transformation that became an award-winning benchmark for Zero Trust architecture.

Today, Tony serves as a CISO-in-residence, advising some of the world’s largest enterprises on cyber resilience, threat-informed defense, and secure digital transformation. His approach blends practical experience with bold innovation, always with a focus on reducing the attack surface and staying ahead of adversaries.

Yegor Aushev is a Ukrainian cybersecurity expert, CEO and Co-Founder of Cyber Unit Technologies. He has over 10 years of experience in cybersecurity, notably as a Co-Founder of the UnitRange cybersecurity training platform, where more than 5,000 specialists from public and private sectors have undergone training. Yegor is also the director and co-founder of the Institute of Cyber Warfare Research (ICWR), an organization dedicated to analyzing contemporary cyber threats. In 2024, he became a Managing Partner of the Kyiv International Cyber Resilience Forum, an international platform for sharing expertise in cyber resilience. Yegor Aushev regularly serves as a guest lecturer at leading universities worldwide, including Berkeley Haas School of Business and the University of Cambridge Judge Business School.

Dr. Youngjae Maeng is a researcher at National Security Research Institute in South Korea.

He received a PhD degree in Computer Science and Information Technology from Inha University. He has been a member of the technology branch of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE). His research interests include network security, usable security, and their applications to authentication.