Eddy Willems

In this inspiring and accessible keynote, Eddy Willems takes the audience on a personal journey through the evolution of cybersecurity, from the early days of computer viruses to the complex digital threats we face today.

Starting from two seemingly simple floppy disk stories, he shows how small events can have far-reaching consequences. The first story revolves around the infamous AIDS Information trojan, the world’s very first ransomware, which Eddy personally analysed in 1989. This historical incident immediately makes one thing clear: cyber threats are not new, they have been evolving alongside technology for decades.

The second floppy disk story did not infect a computer, but rather changed his way of thinking: shaping his views on security, technology, and human behaviour, and marking the beginning of a lifelong mission to raise cyber awareness.

From there, the keynote broadens to include many other real-world examples and true stories drawn from over 35 years of hands-on experience in cybersecurity. Through these cases, Eddy illustrates how:

• well-intentioned human actions can unintentionally create security gaps
• technology fails when human behaviour and context are ignored
• most cyber incidents are not the result of “brilliant hacking,” but of the interaction between people and technology
• the impact of AI and quantum computing on our digital future

At the heart of the keynote is a simple yet powerful formula: Cyber Security Problem = Technological Factor × Human Factor, demonstrating that even the best technology becomes ineffective without awareness, responsibility, and critical thinking.

By translating complex security challenges into relatable stories and concrete situations, this keynote makes cybersecurity understandable, human, and relevant, not just for IT professionals, but for everyone living and working in a digital world.