ciso-event-23

#23 - Event overview

What to Expect?

Location:
‍Prime Tower Zurich

Theme:
‍Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP)

Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure have intensified dramatically in recent years, affecting governments, utilities, and enterprises across the globe.

Power grids, energy systems, manufacturing plants, refineries, hospitals, transportation networks, and water supply systems have all suffered severe disruptions. Attackers are no longer focusing only on IT networks — they increasingly target Operational Technology (OT) systems, aiming to trigger outages, equipment damage, financial losses, and risks to human safety.

The purpose of this Cyber Knowledge Exchange is to explore how operators can strengthen Safety, Reliability, and Performance (SRP) in OT environments.
We will highlight recent OT-directed incidents, emerging attack vectors, and practical lessons learned from real-world breaches.
‍
This boutique-style event brings together experts from government, industry, academia, and leading OT cybersecurity solution providers to address some essential — and sometimes uncomfortable — questions:

> Are you confident your organization consistently meets SRP goals?
> Which cyber defense approaches are proving most effective today?
> Are IR (Incident Response), BCP (Business Continuity Planning), DRP (Disaster Recovery Planning), and Cyber Crisis Management integrated into a single, coordinated strategy?

‍Join us to explore critical strategies, technologies, and cross-sector collaborations needed to safeguard the systems that matter most.

#23: Speakers

Who’s Invited?

Among the participants you will meet senior managers from critical infrastructures who are responsible for ensuring business continuity and operational safety.

In addition, leading CISOs, CIOs, and their direct reports from major Swiss companies and organizations will be present to share their perspectives.

To complement this, our expert team will hand-pick 4–5 innovative IT security startups to present short pitches, showcasing some of the most creative and forward-looking cyber defense solutions.

Event Registration

Registration (see above) is required for all events.

Head of Corporate Security at e-netz Südhessen AG

Kai Schmidt

Kai Schmidt is a project manager in the Network Information Systems department at e-netz Südhessen. His main responsibilities include developing interfaces, enterprise applications, and workflow support within the network control system, GIS, and BDH environments. Since 2012, he has been part of the openKONSEQUENZ consortium and is a member of the Architecture Quality Committee.

CEO at Evolution Security GmbH

Benjamin Mejri

Benjamin Kunz Mejri is a German cybersecurity researcher, penetration tester, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Vulnerability Lab, one of the world’s largest platforms for responsible vulnerability disclosure, and of Evolution Security GmbH, a specialist firm for penetration testing and security assessments. Over the past two decades, he has uncovered and responsibly disclosed hundreds of critical zero-day vulnerabilities in products and services from Microsoft, Apple, PayPal, Skype, BMW, and many more. His discoveries have led to major security improvements in cloud services, banking systems, airports, and millions of IoT devices worldwide. Benjamin is a regular speaker at leading international conferences such as HITB, where he shares deep insights into cloud security, e-payment risks, identity and access flaws, and critical infrastructure protection. He is widely recognized for making highly technical issues accessible and for driving stronger cooperation between security researchers and vendors.

Associate Professor at Northeastern University

Prof. Dr. Aanjhan Ranganathan

Aanjhan is an associate professor (with tenure) in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, USA. He is also an affiliate faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His current research revolves around the security and privacy of wireless networks with a strong focus on autonomous cyber-physical systems and smart ecosystems. He has worked on a wide variety of topics including physical-layer security of wireless systems, secure localization and proximity verification, trusted computing architectures, and side-channels. He is a recipient of several awards including the outstanding dissertation award from ETH Zurich, regional winner of European Space Agency’s Satellite Navigation competition and the Cyber Award from Armasuisse (Switzerland’s Department of Defense). Prior to joining Northeastern, he was a senior researcher in the System Security group at ETH Zurich and has over 3 years of industry research experience as a senior engineer at Robert Bosch GmbH’s Car Multimedia Division “Blaupunkt” where he was involved in the development of embedded modules for top automotive manufacturers including Audi and Volkswagen. He holds an M.Sc with specialization in Electronics and Microelectronics from EPFL, Switzerland and a Ph.D in Computer Science from ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

ICS-OT-IIoT Cyber Security Consultant | Certified Lead Auditor

Daniel Ehrenreich

Daniel Ehrenreich, B.Sc. Engineering, MBA for Engineers, CISSP, ISO27001 Lead Auditor, SCCE- Secure Communications and Control Experts. Daniel has over 35 years of experience with ICS-OT systems for electric power, water, sewage, oil, and gas industries. Daniel is an active member of several ISA-IEC 62443 committees and has published over 150 professional & short papers in Israel and abroad. Since 2010, Daniel has combined his ICS-OT-IIoT engineering activities with cybersecurity, consulting and delivering training sessions in Israel and worldwide. Daniel previously held senior positions in Israel at Waterfall Security, Siemens, and Motorola Solutions, dealing with cyber defense for industrial operations. Since 2016, Daniel has been the permanent Chairperson for the ICS CyberSec Conference in Israel.

President High-Tech Connect

Ralf Haller

With 25+ years in high-tech, I’ve been fortunate to help companies grow by combining data-driven marketing, strategic partnerships, and practical go-to-market execution. My journey has taken me from Silicon Valley to Switzerland, across roles in product marketing, product management, business development, and innovation leadership. I’ve worked with B2B companies in AI, data engineering, legal tech, and IT infrastructure, always with a focus on delivering measurable results, building trust, and creating lasting market impact. Along the way, I’ve built and led international marketing teams, launched high-ROI campaigns, and learned the value of staying hands-on. My background mixes deep technical training (MSc EE from KIT, MSc Data Science from MIT) with executive education (INSEAD) and three decades of real-world experience. Today, I’m passionate about scaling AI-first platforms and supporting the adoption of transformative technologies in Europe.

#23: Event-agenda

Cyber Knowledge Exchange Theme

Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP)

Time - CET

Type

speaker, company

ThemE