Ian Engelbrecht, EMEA field CTO at Veeam Software. (Photograph by Lesley Moyo)
Traditional cyber resilience was built for human-speed threats. But in an era defined by AI agents, autonomous execution and emerging quantum risks, organisations must rethink what “recovery” truly means.
This is according to Ian Engelbrecht, EMEA field CTO at Veeam Software, speaking to ITWeb ahead of the company’s participation in ITWeb Security Summit Cape Town 2026.
The event is scheduled for 26 May at Century City Conference Centre, Cape Town, under the theme: Redefining security in the face of AI-driven attacks, fragile supply chains and a global skills gap.
In his session, Engelbrecht will unpack how modern enterprises can evolve beyond backups and reactive recovery, toward trusted, continuously validated resilience, where data, identity, automation and governance work together to reduce risk and maintain operational trust.
He will also examine the convergence of AI governance, identity integrity and post-quantum planning and crypto agility over time, outlining a practical blueprint for strategic resilience − a model where resilience is not assumed, but continuously validated and operationally proven.
See also
In addition to this presentation, Veeam will also host the ITWeb Security Summit 2026 Cape Town executive roundtable – Resilient by Design, a closed-door, invite-only executive session on 27 May, in Constantia Valley, Cape Town.
Participants will discuss themes including AI governance, data visibility, cyber readiness and trusted data.
Andre Troskie, EMEA field CISO at Veeam, will speak at the roundtable. He believes the event is particularly relevant as South Africa and other emerging markets across the continent continue to be impacted by AI-driven cyber attacks and an increasingly complex threat landscape.
“The roundtable affords us an opportunity to engage with industry experts and business leaders to discuss the way forward, and to chart a course to successfully navigate an evolving threat landscape.
“AI will continue to impact all sectors and industries, compelling organisations to review their defence strategies to counter threat actors that are increasingly weaponising AI.”
