Sandika Daya, technology governance, risk and compliance leader at a major media group, will unpack the evolving demands of cyber security leadership at the ITWeb Security Summit 2026
Daya, who is also chairperson of the board of directors of a national public entity – with responsibility for critical infrastructure and public safety – will speak on day two of the summit (3 June) in Johannesburg. She will explore the critical importance of strengthening the CISO-board relationship and outline strategies for elevating cyber security to a strategic boardroom priority.
Drawing on over 18 years of experience in technology governance, cyber risk and compliance – including senior leadership roles in complex, regulated environments – she will share how CISOs can communicate more effectively with boards, including the vocabulary and framing that help translate technical risk into strategic insight.
She currently holds a senior IT governance, risk and compliance role within a large media and technology group and is a board chair and independent audit committee member for various organisations, providing oversight across IT, digital transformation and enterprise risk – giving her a rare perspective from both sides of the boardroom table.
She’ll examine whether cyber security leadership should primarily come from the board or be driven by the CISO, and unpack why gaining true board-level buy-in remains such a challenge for many organisations – along with practical ways to overcome these barriers.
Daya will discuss the kinds of questions boards should be asking their CISOs, and whether cyber security is genuinely treated as a top-tier organisational risk, included on their risk register, and if not, why not?
“Cyber security only becomes a boardroom priority when CISOs stop speaking in tools and threats, and start speaking in impact and trade-offs. At the same time, boards need to ask better questions. This session throws theory out the window and focuses on practically closing that gap,” says Daya.
For more information or to register, visit www.itweb.co.za/event/itweb-security-summit-2026.
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