Cyber Ireland’s South East Chapter hosted an engaging and thought-provoking event at Sun Life in Waterford, focused on the Cyber Threat Landscape and Emerging Trends.
The talks explored some of the most pressing issues shaping today’s cyber threat landscape—from blockchain‑enabled malware to the growing importance of trust, privacy, and future cybersecurity skills.
The event opened with a welcome from Sun Life’s AVP Digital Security Threat & Vulnerability Management, Daniel Treyvaud, followed by an introduction from South East Chapter Co-Lead James Egan, SETU, setting the tone for a morning focused on learning, collaboration, and forward‑looking insights.
Smart Contracts, Smart Threats
Brendan Burke, Threat Hunter and Luciana Alves, Assistant Vice President in Cyber Threat Intelligence from State Street kicked off the talks with an overview of how blockchain technologies are being leveraged for malware delivery and provided attendees with a high-level understanding of blockchain-based malware, emerging Web3 threats, and current detection limitations.
Finding Truth in an AI‑Centric World
Next, Paul Delahunty, CISO at Stryve Secure, highlighted how rapidly advancing generative AI is reshaping trust, authenticity, and our ability to distinguish fact from manipulation. He emphasised that as deepfakes, synthetic media, and AI‑driven social engineering rise, organisations must proactively update policies, strengthen verification processes, and build AI literacy across all teams.
Privacy Enhancing Technologies in Practice
Rob Leslie, CEO and Founder of Sedicii, outlined how Privacy Enhancing Technologies, such as Zero‑Knowledge Proofs, Secure Multiparty Computation, and breakthrough Messageless Computation—enable organisations to collaborate and verify identity without ever exposing sensitive data, significantly reducing compliance and cybersecurity risk. He emphasised that these innovations unlock the foundation for a trusted digital economy, delivering unprecedented speed, scalability, and confidentiality for financial services, identity systems, and cross‑industry data sharing.
Safeguarding Tomorrow’s Cyber Talent
The final talk of the morning came from Shane Hayes, Triage Investigation Team Lead at Sun Life, who explored the essential skills cyber defenders will need in 2026 and the evolving landscape of cybersecurity. He outlined how the digital threat landscape is accelerating, driven by increasingly advanced attacks and expanding cloud and IoT environments. He reinforced how AI is becoming essential to defence—automating threat detection, enabling predictive analytics, and demanding new skills to stay ahead of emerging risks.
Q&A and Networking
The formal agenda concluded with an engaging Q&A session, moderated by Fiona Murphy, Senior Security and Problem Analyst, Sun Life, who also MC-ed the event. Attendees got the opportunity to exchange insights, build connections, and continue the conversations sparked throughout the morning over tea, coffee and pastries.
A huge thank you to Sun Life for hosting the event.
Cyber Ireland’s South East Chapter continues to play a vital role in building a strong, collaborative cybersecurity community in the region. This event delivered practical knowledge, future‑focused discussions, and the kind of peer‑to‑peer engagement that keeps practitioners informed and resilient in an ever‑changing threat environment.
Looking forward to the next gathering!