Dr Maiendra Moodley, one of SA’s most respected voices on cyber security and governance, has been confirmed as a speaker for the 21st annual ITWeb Security Summit.
His talk: “Too many chiefs: The rise of (in)security”, will examine how the rapid expansion of executive security roles – such as chief security officer, chief privacy officer and chief trust officer – is creating both opportunity and confusion within organisations.
While these roles aim to strengthen governance and accountability, their overlapping mandates can blur responsibility, create inefficiencies and, paradoxically, increase insecurity.
“The next security crisis won’t come from a lack of roles – it’ll come from a lack of clarity. Leadership, not labels, will define the future of digital trust,” says Dr Moodley.
“The explosion of security titles across organisations often stems from a genuine desire to strengthen digital resilience – yet without clear lines of authority, it risks creating a governance vacuum,” Dr Moodley observes.
“When everyone claims to own security, often no one is truly accountable. Today’s security leadership has become title-rich but accountability-poor, allowing gaps to emerge where attackers thrive. The future of security leadership isn’t about creating more roles; it’s about creating more clarity. True resilience lies in coherence, not complexity – in uniting trust, privacy and protection under one clear, cohesive, strategic mandate. As digital ecosystems expand, resilience will depend on how effectively organisations align these functions into a single, value-driven narrative of confidence, transforming security from a fragmented function into an orchestrated, strategic capability that enables clarity, agility and measurable impact.”
Dr Moodley will outline practical ways for organisations to reduce duplication, clarify accountability and prevent malicious actors from exploiting ambiguity in governance structures – ultimately transforming security from a tactical service to a strategic value driver.
When everyone claims to own security, often no one is truly accountable.
Dr Maiendra Moodley
A veteran strategist and accomplished professional CIO, Dr Moodley continues to contribute to international initiatives and thought leadership on digital trust, emerging threats and organisational resilience through his editorial roles with leading academic journals to his participation in Wikistrat’s global analyst network. He provides public sector advisory services and is also an associate editor for the International Journal of Information System Modeling and Design and the International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management.
At the 2025 ITWeb Security Summit earlier this year, his session: “Security as an elusive service” explored how chief security officers can evolve from tactical support to strategic business enablers – a theme he now expands on by addressing the leadership and governance challenges of multiplying C-suite titles.
Delegates can expect a sharp, real-world analysis of how organisational design influences security outcomes, with actionable guidance for CISOs and senior executives.
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