8:30	Registration and Coffee
9:00	Mihi Whakatau
9:10	Welcome from the MC Kendra Ross, Leader, Entrepreneur, and Community Builder
9:20	Welcome from Tech New Zealand Graeme Muller, Chief Executive, Tech New Zealand
9:30	Building a resilient Cyber Nation - aligning enterprise defence with NZ's National Cyber Security Strategy Michael Jagusch, Acting Deputy Director General Cyber Security, National Cyber Security Centre
10:10	Morning break
10:40	New Zealand Under the Microscope: What Global Threat Actors See in Aotearoa Kapil Barman, Regional Director GSI Business APAC, Cyble
11:10	Privacy Commissioner Address Michael Webster, Privacy Commissioner
11:40	Panel discussion: Incident Response and Threat Mitigation Building and managing effective incident response plans Detecting and mitigating cyber threats – the rise of AI and Quantum fuelled threats for organisations Using real-time data and analytics for intelligent decision making Eli Hirschauge, Head of Information Security, ANZ Bank New Zealand Phil Riley, Director, PwC Simon Burson, Chief Information Security Officer, Auckland Council Further panelists to be announced
12:20	Lunch
13:30	Roundtables Join peers and subject matter experts for facilitated conversations around the hottest cyber security issues. Attendees will be able to join two topics. Topics may include: The Evolving Role of the CISO in Government and Enterprise — from tech guardian to business risk leader Sovereignty, Cloud, and Control — navigating data residency, jurisdictional risk, and “digital sovereignty” for NZ Cyber Policy in the Boardroom — helping directors and c-suite understand and act on cyber risk Zero Trust, Real Talk — separating the principle from the buzzword Metrics that Matter — redefining how CISOs measure and report cyber maturity Third-Party & Supply Chain Assurance — controlling risk beyond your perimeter The Human Firewall: Strength or Weak Link? — making security culture stick beyond phishing training Insider Threats in a Hybrid World — balancing trust, surveillance, and employee autonomy Talent Wars in Cyber — growing NZ’s cyber workforce, upskilling non-technical staff, and retaining top talent AI: Defence Weapon or Attack Vector? — managing both the promise and peril of generative AI in security Quantum, Cryptography, and the Post-Encryption Future — when should NZ start preparing? Identity is the New Perimeter — managing access, authentication, and privilege in the modern stack OT and Critical Infrastructure Security — protecting utilities, transport, and health from state and criminal threats Incident Response 2.0 — automation, playbooks, and the future of digital forensics
15:00	Afternoon break
15:30	Zero trust and identity first to counter attackers using new tech Attackers are moving faster with generative AI, automation and novel social engineering—and identity is their favourite attack surface. This session distils the latest insights from our global threat intelligence into what’s really changing, what’s not, and where risk is concentrating. We’ll outline pragmatic, identity-first zero trust techniques - such as continuous verification, least privilege, and rapid containment - that leaders can apply now. Robyn Campbell, Partner, PwC
15:50	You can’t protect and govern what you can’t see From cloud sprawl to compliance, your journey starts by discovering and unifying your entire data estate, because you can’t protect and govern what you can’t see. Build safe, enterprise-ready AI on a foundation of strong data security, resilience, and compliance - even in the face of chaos! AI can’t deliver real business outcomes if your sensitive data is exposed, misused, or non-compliant. In today’s digital landscape, organisations face mounting risks from cloud sprawl, data exposure, and toxic combinations of excessive permissions and misconfigurations, often without knowing where sensitive data truly lives or if it’s governed. Compliance demands are growing, and tool sprawl makes it harder to centralise visibility, access, and context needed to protect critical information. The solution is to unify data security, resilience, and robust governance. Let us show you how leading organisations are addressing these challenges: ensuring data is always visible, compliant, governed, and automatically protected, with the ability to recover fast and with precision. Discover practical strategies to identify and mitigate hidden risks, strengthen access controls, avoid toxic combinations, and build a foundation for trusted AI. David Allott, Field Chief Information Security Officer, Veeam
16:10	Security as a Human Problem, Not a Technical One: Risk Management in ANZ’s Evolving Cyber Landscape Here's the reality: 68% of data breaches happen because of human error. Even with top-tier technical defenses, phishing and social engineering attacks, particularly via email, are still the #1 threat facing organisations in ANZ today. In this session, we'll explore why email remains the weakest link and how phishing and social engineering continue to be the main gateways for breaches and ransomware, with AI making attacks more sophisticated than ever before. Joe Gillett, Head of ANZ, Knowbe4
16:30	Regulations, Risks & Roles: Why IAM is Key to GRC Success Sujith Immanuel Pellican, Head of Presales, ManageEngine
16:50	Summary remarks from the MC
17:10	2026 National Cyber Security Summit Networking Function

9:00	Welcome back from the MC
9:10	Keynote: Digital Frontiers: Canada’s Cyber & Digital Strategy in the Pacific How Canada is collaborating with like-minded partners in the region Developing a strong Pacific connection Adapting to a changing world, a constant effort of strategy A year plus in the region: what I have seen and heard Etienne Lambert, Cyber/Digital Officer (Pacific), High Commission of Canada in Canberra
9:50	Session Spotlight
10:20	Morning break
10:50	Collective Defence at Scale: Redefining Cyber Leadership for a Resilient Aotearoa Cybersecurity has graduated from the server room to the board room. In an era of heightened geopolitical tension and systemic interdependency, a "glitch" in private infrastructure is now a matter of national security. As New Zealand strengthens its national security and cyber resilience posture, the boundary between corporate duty and sovereign resilience has dissolved. This session explores the transition from individual perimeter defence to a "shared fate" model. We will examine how cyber resilience has become a core board-level accountability and a primary fiduciary duty. Join us to discuss how Aotearoa’s leaders are operationalising collective defence - moving beyond compliance checkboxes to build a proactive, high-trust partnership that secures our national digital ecosystem. Nicole Henry, Head of Government Relations Australia and New Zealand, Fortinet
11:10	The Truth About Cybersecurity – What We’ve Learned From a Decade of Watching Real-World Breaches Reece Appleton, Regional Director APAC, Huntress
11:30	Cyber resilience is a competitive advantage, not just compliance Representative from Zscaler
11:50	Securing access in New Zealand’s borderless, high-risk environment Harman Nagra, Director, Cloudflare
12:10	Lunch
13:30	Panel Discussion: The Human Factor in Cybersecurity: Attracting Talent, Building Skills, Raising Awareness and Educating for the Future Strategies to make cybersecurity roles appealing to diverse talent pools Cultivating a security-conscious culture at every level Addressing “human error” as the most common vulnerability in cyber incidents Forecasting skills needed for emerging technologies (AI, cloud, IoT, quantum) Alistair Vickers, CIO, Horizon Energy Group Rudo Tagwireyi, Chief Information Security Officer, University of Canterbury Further Panellists to be announced
14:00	Update on reporting of cyber statistics in NZ
14:30	Closing keynote
15:15	Closing remarks from the MC

17 - 18 March 2026 | Tākina, Wellington

National Cyber Security Summit 2026

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The Premier Gathering for New Zealand’s Cybersecurity Leaders

“Do you have your ladder on the right wall? Are you protecting your customers, your people, your data, and your organisation?”

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Sujith Immanuel Pellican

David Allott

Nicole Henry

Simon Burson

Philip Riley

Joe Gillett

Rudo Tagwireyi

Reece Appleton

Michael Webster

Harman Nagra

Graeme Muller

Alistair Vickers

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