Cyanre, a specialist DFIR firm, is proud to announce its participation at the ITWeb Security Summit 2026, where it will address one of the most critical gaps in modern cyber security: how organisations respond when defences inevitably fail.
Taking place at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town on 26 May and at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 2-4 June, the summit brings together leading cyber security professionals to explore the evolving threat landscape and the realities of defending organisations in an era of AI-driven attacks and operational complexity.
As part of its participation, Cyanre will deliver two thought-provoking sessions that challenge conventional approaches to cyber resilience. Lukas van der Merwe, Associate Director at Cyanre, will present Digital Wounds, exploring the real organisational and leadership impact of cyber incidents, while Professor Danny Myburgh will present Resilience Cannot Be ‘Policied’, focusing on why resilience must extend beyond governance frameworks and into practical, lived readiness.
While many organisations continue to invest heavily in preventative controls, Cyanre’s focus at this year’s summit is on what happens after those controls break down.
“When an organisation is under attack, it isn’t an IT issue, it’s a leadership event,” says Van der Merwe. “At that point, technical containment is only one part of the equation. Legal exposure, financial implications, regulatory response and executive decision-making all converge at speed.”
Cyanre emphasises that the first hour of a cyber incident is often the most decisive. Critical decisions made during this period, often with incomplete information, shape the trajectory of the entire response, from evidence preservation and insurer notification to stakeholder communication and threat actor engagement.
ITWEB SECURITY SUMMIT 2026
Now in its 21st year, ITWeb Security Summit is Africa’s premier cyber security event.
Under the theme: “Redefining security in the face of AI-driven attacks, fragile supply chains and a global skills gap”, the 2026 summit will take place in Cape Town (25-26 May) and in Johannesburg (2-4 June).
For more information or to register, visit www.itweb.co.za/securitysummit.
“There is a significant difference between organisations that prepare for incidents and those that respond reactively,” Van der Merwe adds. “We consistently see that preparation is not theoretical, it directly impacts outcomes, speed of recovery and overall cost.”
Research findings reinforce this point. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025, organisations with tested incident response plans can reduce breach costs by as much as 61%. Yet many organisations are still forced to make complex decisions for the first time while already under attack.
Adding further context to the African landscape, recent Sophos research indicates that more than 71% of South African organisations affected by ransomware chose to pay. This highlights the real-world pressure executives face when business continuity, reputational risk and regulatory exposure are all at stake.
Through its participation at ITWeb Security Summit 2026, Cyanre will demonstrate how organisations can move beyond compliance-based security approaches towards true operational readiness. This includes aligning executive teams, defining decision authority upfront and preparing for the practical realities of managing a live cyber crisis.
“The battleground of a cyber attack is not conducive to constructive debate,” says Van der Merwe. “If organisations have not agreed in advance on how decisions are made, who is accountable, and what constitutes an acceptable outcome; those decisions will be made under extreme pressure, and the results will reflect that.”
Drawing on experience across thousands of real-world incident response engagements, Cyanre brings a perspective shaped not by hypothetical scenarios, but by lived exposure to how attacks unfold and how organisations actually behave under pressure.
At the summit, Cyanre will engage with CISOs, executives and security leaders on how to prepare for the inevitable: the moment when defence gives way to response.
“Preparation is not about having all the answers,” Van der Merwe concludes. “It’s about deciding in advance how uncertainty will be managed, because when a breach occurs, there is no time to align, debate or explore options. There is only time to act.”
About Cyanre
Cyanre is a cyber resilience firm specialising in incident response, digital forensics, breach readiness and executive-level cyber crisis management. Working with boards, executive teams, legal counsel and insurers, Cyanre helps organisations prepare for, manage and recover from complex cyber incidents.
With experience across thousands of incidents over more than two decades, Cyanre’s approach focuses on real-world response dynamics, decision-making under pressure and aligning organisations to respond effectively when it matters most.
About ITWeb Security Summit 2026
ITWeb Security Summit 2026 will be held at Century City Conference Centre, Cape Town on 26 May 2026 and at Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg from 2-4 June 2026.
Themed: ‘Redefining security in the face of AI-driven attacks, fragile supply chains and a global skills gap’, the 21st annual edition of Security Summit will continue in its tradition of bringing leading international and local industry experts, analysts and end-users together to delve into the specific threats and opportunities facing African CISOs, security specialists, GRC professionals and anyone else who is responsible for securing their organisation from cyber attacks.
Register today. Visit here for Cape Town or here for Johannesburg.
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