Charis Florides

Director of Business Consulting Services Unit, Logicom Solutions

Charis Florides is the Director of Business Consulting Services Unit of Logicom Solutions, helping clients to define technology related strategies, build frameworks and safeguard their business by proactively identifying and assessing areas threatening information assets and their operations. He has over 15 years of experience in different areas of Information Technology, including designing and delivering transformation projects and highly complex Information Security architectures, cybersecurity strategies and frameworks. Previously, he served as Head of IT Audit at a major Financial Institution in Cyprus. Charis holds an MSc in Information Security from Royal Holloway University of London, is CISSP and OSCP certified and a Cyprus Certified Information Security Professionals (ISC2) Chapter Board Member.

George Mavrovitis

Security Technical Sales, IBM

George has over ten years of experience as a presales engineer and consultant working in various positions in the IT industry. His current role as a Security Technical Sales at IBM focuses on security solutions with a mission to help clients achieve their security goals and objectives.

Prof. Constantine Dovrolis

Director of Computation-Based Science and Technology Research Center (CaSToRC), The Cyprus Institute

Dr. Constantine Dovrolis is the Director of the center for Computational Science and Technology (CaSToRC) at The Cyprus Institute (CyI) as of 1/1/2023. He is also a Professor at the School of Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). He is a graduate of the Technical University of Crete (Engr.Dipl. 1995), University of Rochester (M.S. 1996), and University of Wisconsin-Madison (Ph.D. 2000). His research is highly inter-disciplinary, combining Network Theory, Data Mining and Machine Learning. Together with his collaborators and students, they have published in a wide range of scientific disciplines, including climate science, biology, and neuroscience. More recently, his group has been focusing on neuro-inspired architectures for machine learning. According to Google Scholar, his publications have received more than 15,000 citations with an h-index of 56. His research has been sponsored by US agencies such as NSF, NIH, DOE, DARPA, and by companies such as Google, Microsoft and Cisco.

Michael Haggar

Senior Security Specialist, Microsoft

Michael Haggar is a security solutions specialist with 17 years of experience, expertise in cybersecurity expanding to the areas of threat management, data security, cloud security and privacy. He has been working as a Sr. Technical Specialist in Microsoft for the last 7 years, helping customers in our region to achieve more by minimizing security risk, improve SOC operation efficiency and reduce costs. Lately, Michael has been selected by Microsoft to participate to an exclusive community that build the future of cybersecurity operations with the use of Artificial Intelligence.

Lampros Katsonis

Solutions Director, Guardbyte

Lampros Katsonis is a cybersecurity consultant and co-founder of Guardbyte, a leading cyber security provider in Cyprus. With a bachelor’s degree in computer science and an MSc in Cybersecurity, I possess a strong academic foundation. Over 13 years in the industry, I have cultivated extensive expertise in safeguarding digital landscapes. My strategic insights and hands-on experience ensure robust protection against evolving threats. I am dedicated to enhancing cyber resilience and crafting innovative solutions. My track record demonstrates an unwavering commitment to securing digital ecosystems and driving organizational success.

Nicodemos Damianou

Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy,Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy

Mr Nicodemos Damianou was born in Lefkosia in 1973. He holds a Sc.B Degree in Computer Science from Brown University USA, a Ph.D in Computers and Network Management from Imperial College UK, a Diploma of Information Security from Imperial College, and an MBA from the University of Cyprus. He is an IT and Information Security professional with many years of experience in Payment Systems and Fintech, Risk Management Methodologies and Digital Transformation Technologies. He served at managerial positions within the Bank of Cyprus Group, while for the past six years he was the General Manager of JCC Payment Systems Ltd.

George Michaelides

Commissioner of Communications, Office of the Commissioner of Communications

George has more than 25 years of experience in ICT.  He holds a B.Eng in Computer Engineering and an MSc in Communications Systems. He worked for more than 14 years for multinational organizations holding various regional senior ICT roles, accountable for the provision of impeccable service, through reorganizations, outsourcing and the implementation/adoption of IT Best Practices.  Since 2014, he is leading the Cyprus National Regulatory Authority (OCECPR) for Electronic Communications and Postal Services as well as additionally in 2018, the regulatory authority for Network and Information Security (NIS) for Critical Information Infrastructures (CIIs).  As part of this responsibility he has setup and operate the National CSIRT.  His office is also the coordinating body for the implementation of Cyprus Cybersecurity Strategy as well as to operate the National Coordination Center, responsible to boost research excellence and competitiveness of the country/Union in the field of cybersecurity. As part of his regulatory duties he is a Board member of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) and the European Cybersecurity Competence Center (ECCC)

Diamandis Zafeiriades

Head of Digital Security Authority (DSA) of Cyprus

Mr. Diamandis Zafeiriades is the Chief Officer of the DSA. He has participated actively in international and European standardization technical committees developing standards in the field of information security and cybersecurity. He has represented Cyprus in the International Standardization Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC1 SC27 “Information Security, Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection” for more than 10 years. Also, he is one of the first participants of the European Technical Committee CEN/CLC JTC13 “Cybersecurity & Data protection”. Diamandis holds a BEng (Hons) in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Coventry University [UK] and an MSc in Data Communication Systems from Brunel University of West London [UK]. Currently he is the Chief Officer/Head of Digital Security Authority of Cyprus. Diamandis is a certified ISMS,BCMS, ABMS & QMS Auditor. In the last 15 years he conducted several 3rd party audits for accredited Certification bodies for ISO/IEC 27001(ISMS), ISO/IEC 27701(PIMS),ISO 22301(BCMS),ISO 37001(ABMS) and ISO 9001(QMS) in Cyprus and abroad. Diamandis also holds CISA & CBCI certifications.

Matan Weissman

Territory Manager for Israel, Greece and Cyprus, Zerto a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company

I have spent the last 10 years working around DR and Data Protection working in areas like Africa, Mediterranean and the Middle East. Now focused on providing companies the ability to achieve and an uninterrupted Business.

Demetris Skourides

Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology of the Republic of Cyprus

Demetris Skourides is the Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology of the Republic of Cyprus. Demetris Skourides holds a BSc in Computer Science, with an emphasis on Software Engineering, from Arizona State University, USA, and an MBA from Henley Management College, UK. Among other things, he has been trained in digital transformation, artificial intelligence, data monetisation and sales, in programs at Columbia, Stanford, MIT and Harvard Universities respectively. Demetris has worked with technology giants Oracle and Amazon Web Services. He joined Oracle Cyprus in 2006 after two years at the Cyprus Organisation for Standardisation and has since followed an international career with Oracle, taking on management roles across South East Europe and Commonwealth countries. Among others, he held executive positions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia-Pacific countries, as a Cloud & ISV Solutions transformation leader. Demetris spearheaded the establishment of Cloud Partner Centres of Excellence in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, South Korea, Kenya and South Africa, which enabled partners to innovate, create new solutions and bring them to market, creating new revenue streams. In his most recent role, he worked at Amazon Web Services, Dubai, UAE, as Industry Strategist for EMEA Commercial Sales, driving innovative solutions for the financial services, retail, manufacturing and energy sectors. The Chief Scientist chairs, ex officio, the Board of Directors of the Research and Innovation Foundation.

Prof. Christos Xenakis

Head of the Hellenic Cybersecurity Team, University of Piraeus

Prof. Christos Xenakis (Male) received his B.Sc degree in computer science in 1993 and his M.Sc degree in telecommunication and computer networks in 1996, both from the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, University of Athens, Greece. In 2004 he received his Ph.D. from the University of Athens (Department of Informatics and Telecommunications). From 1998 - 2001 he was with a Greek telecoms system development firm, where he was involved in the design and development of advanced telecommunications subsystems. From 1996 - 2007 he was a member of the Communication Networks Laboratory of the University of Athens. Since 2007 he is a faculty member of the Department of Digital Systems of the University of Piraeus, Greece, where currently is a Professor, a member of the Systems Security Laboratory and the director of the Postgraduate Degree Programme, on "Digital Systems Security". He has participated in numerous projects realized in the context of EU Programs (ACTS, ESPRIT, IST, AAL, DGHOME, Marie Curie, Horizon2020, Horizon Europe) as well as National Programs (Greek). He is the project manager of the AIAS and NITRO EU funded projects, while he is the Principal Investigator of the RESCALE, CYBERUNITY, ENTRUST, ERATOSTHENES and CHRISS projects, funded by Horizon Europe. Furthermore, he was the project manager of the SECONDO, INCOGNITO, ReCRED, CUREX and SealedGRID projects, funded by Horizon 2020 and the technical manager of the UINFC2 project funded by DGHOME/ISEC. He is also a steering committee member of the European Cyber Security Challenge (ECSC) and the leader of the Hellenic Cyber Security Team. He is a member of the editorial board of three Thomson Reuters indexed journals: a) Computers & Security Journal of the Elsevier publishing, b) Computer Communications Journal of the Elsevier publishing, and c) the Computer Journal, Oxford University Press. His research interests are in the field of systems, networks and applications security. He has authored more than 110 papers in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences.

Dr Konstantinos Kleovoulou

Assistant Vice President of Innovation and Development, The Cyprus Institute (CyI)

Dr. Kleovoulou leads the Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Knowledge Valorization, and Strategic Development activities at the Cyprus Institute. With an academic foundation in physics and an MBA from University College London, he specializes in Research, Technology, and Innovation management. His expertise includes strategic planning, knowledge transfer, startup incubation and fostering academia-industry partnerships. Before joining CyI, he worked as a research fellow at MIT and at the Cyprus University of Technology. He has notable teaching and publishing experience and extensive experience in securing and managing research and innovation projects through competitive funding, mainly from EU and National Funding agencies. Konstantinos co-founded ReflectX, a regional startup competition, and holds board positions in various startups. An active contributor to Policy Making and Innovation for Green and Digital Transition, Dr. Kleovoulou serves on the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Ports Authority and on the Coordination team of Limassol 2030, which orchestrates Limassol City's plan for climate neutrality by 2030 as part of the EU 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission. Previously, he served as a member of the Parallel Parliament for Research, Innovation, and Digital Governance of the Republic of Cyprus and as a member of the Task Force for Green Economy and Innovation in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Climate Change Initiative of the Republic of Cyprus.

Toumazis Toumazi

Project Officer at the Cyprus Computer Society

Toumazis is the Project Officer at the Cyprus Computer Society since 2018 and has a very strong experience in managing EU, National and other funded projects. His duties among others include the coordination and work on project tasks including the financial control of the projects. He is also involved in the support of the Society's activities such as the Cyprus Cyber Security Challenge.

Stella Tsitsoula

President of the BoD Hellenic Cybersecurity Institute, Vice-President Women4Cyber Greece, Owner RED.comm

Stella Tsitsoula is a communications consultant specialized in the technology and cyber security industry. She works with multinational organizations, Greek businesses and universities, communicating emerging technologies, cyber security awareness, risks and strategy development. Since 2017 she is the communication manager of the National Cyber Security Team participating in the Pan-European Cyber Security Competition organized by the European Cyber Security Agency ENISA and a member of the organizing committee. Since 2020, she has been a member of the Cyber Security Forum Initiative (CSFI), a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, whose mission is to raise awareness and guide the general public on cyber security issues through partnerships and training. Stella is also a co-founder of the Greek Chapter of the European non-profit organization Women4Cyber a women's cybersecurity community. In 2023 she founded the Hellenic Institute of Cybersecurity, a civil non-profit company with the purpose of supporting, highlighting, promoting high-tech issues and issues related to the security of digital information and digital information systems, in physical facilities and on the internet. Stella participates in numerous conferences as a public speaker, advocating important initiatives and actions for cybersecurity awareness in the society. Stella has a background in journalism, having worked for some of the largest Greek ICT publications. For more than 25 years she has held senior management positions with extensive experience in the media and communications industry. She has a degree in Computer Systems Engineering; a Master’s in Public Relations Management, is studying in an MBA program and is a Certified Lead Auditor ISO 9001:2015. Stella is a happy mother of Anna and Vicky.

Yannis Rizopoulos

Journalist

Yannis Rizopoulos studied Electronics, but made his career in the Media sector, where he has been active for almost 50 years. He has worked for “Kathimerini” as a member, then head of Foreign Desk, “Naftemporiki” and “Sunday Eleftherotypia” newspapers, focusing on Technology and Innovation issues. He has served as editor-in-chief or member of the editorial team in dozens of magazines on a wide area of subjects, has many years of radio and TV experience and has also served as moderator in numerous conferences and congresses. For six years, he was the editor of the specialized section Technologein at “Pathfinder” portal, where he produced more than 110 multimedia documentaries on innovative research, tech apps and best practices. Nowadays, he contributes to magazines, events and sites of Boussias Media (www.boussias.com) and Vertical Communications (www.webworldnews.gr).

Rossella Mattioli

Cybersecurity Expert, European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA)

Rossella Mattioli is in charge of the coordination of incident response and cyber crisis management support in EU and the new cybersecurity foresight portfolio launched in 2021 . Before focusing on today's and tomorrow's challenges, she worked on threat modeling and security measures for Internet infrastructure, ICS/SCADA, smart grids, Internet of Things, smart cars and airports. She holds a MSc in Cybersecurity from TalTech - Tallinn University of Technology and since 2013 she is based in ENISA HQs in Athens, Greece.

Yuval Sapir

Head Product Manager at Sling Ltd

Yuval Sapir, Head of Product Manager at Sling Ltd., brings an array of experience from the Israeli Intelligence Unit 8200, grounding her in cybersecurity. She served as Intelligence Support Lead at Cyberint and a Darknet Cyber Intelligence Analyst at KELA Ltd. Her global impact includes pivotal contributions to establishing Sling's office in Japan. Yuval is excelling as a dynamic Product Manager at Sling headquarters with her diverse background and strategic skill set. Ergoman SA is the business partner for KELA Ltd for Greece & Cyprus. 2. Brief: Experienced leader in product development, localization, and marketing. Was part of Sling's team leading a startup to significant milestones by overseeing product execution and prospect engagement. Previously managed Threat Intelligence operations with global customers. Skilled in aligning customer needs with company capabilities. Past positions include Product Manager and Threat Intelligence Analyst & Team lead both in Japan and Israel.

Philippos Hadjizacharias

ex-Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy of the Republic of Cyprus

Philippos journey so far, is a testament to the power of determination, resilience, and the pursuit of knowledge. After studying BA in Accounting at the University of Birmingham, he pursued further education while juggling work, earning the ACCA Professional Qualification and a Master’s in Taxation from London University and Institute of Advanced Legal Studies In 2008, he founded his own audit and tax firm in Cyprus, PHS & Partners Ltd, earning renown for his expertise. His leadership extended to serving as Secretary of ICPAC and eventually being appointed in 2023 as Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, by the President of the Republic of Cyprus. He is a true believer that we live in a world where change is inevitable, however adapting to change and choosing to grow from it, is something that everyone should be focusing on. Passionate with his family, with his love for football and tennis and an active contributor to society

George Michael

Executive Committee Board Member at the Cyprus Computer Society

George Michael received a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Cyprus. He worked at the Data-Driven Multithreading Laboratory at the University of Cyprus for a few years researching high-performance computing. He then worked as a full-stack developer at XM.COM and CeraNext LTD. He is an active Cyprus Computer Society (CCS) and IEEE volunteer and has held various positions since 2006. The most important between them: • Cyprus Computer Society (CCS) [B.o.D 2014 - Today] • Cyprus Cyber Security Challenge [Project Lead 2022 - Today] • Cyprus Informatics Olympiad [Project Lead 2006 - 2018] • Balkan Olympiad in Informatics [Tech Lead 2006 & 2016] • IEEE Region 8 Committee [Various Positions 2009 - Today] • IEEE Day [Tech Lead 2014 & 2021] • IEEEXtreme [Various Positions 2006 – Today] • University of Cyprus IEEE Student Branch [Various Positions 2006 - 2013] • IEEE Cyprus Section Executive Committee [Various Positions 2011 - Today]

Roberto Cascella

CTO at European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO)

Roberto Cascella works as Chief Technology Officer at the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO). He also coordinates the two technical ECSO WGs with a high impact on the European cybersecurity strategy: WG6 defines the cybersecurity R&I roadmap for trusted and resilient technologies, and WG1 focuses on standardisation and certification in cybersecurity with the mission to establish trusted supply chains at EU level. He also represents ECSO in different committees, including the SCCG established under the Cybersecurity Act. Roberto also serves as Project Coordinator of the European Cybersecurity Community Support project (ECCO) that received funding from DEP to support the activities necessary to develop, promote, coordinate and organise the work of the Cybersecurity Competence Community at European Level, within the scope and operations of the ECCC and National Coordination Centres Network.

Dimitris Papastergiou (online)

Minister at Ministry of Digital Governance of Greece

Dimitris Papastergiou was born in Trikala, in 1973. He graduated from a local High School and the School of Electrical & Computer Engineering of NTUA. At the same time, he attended journalism courses, while maintaining strong ties with technology and the internet, a relationship that was strengthened at the NTUA Multimedia Laboratory. In 2001, he created and presented together with his partners the first comprehensive page for the Prefecture of Trikala, on 3kala.gr. Since 2002, he has been practicing as a Computer & Electrical Engineer in the city of Trikala, being involved in studies and constructions of private electromechanical projects, as well as in software development. In 2007, he entered the field of renewable energy sources and has built more than 300 private projects since then. His involvement in local politics began in 2002, with his election as a member of the Municipal Council. He was re-elected in 2006, and in 2014 he was elected Mayor of Trikala and member of the Board of Directors of KEDE. He was re-elected in 2019 and, in the same year, he was also elected as the President of KEDE. Since June 2023 he is Minister of Digital Governance in the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He is married to Soula Brakis, also an engineer, and he is the happy father of Fay, Kostas and Nikos.

Costas Agrotis

Chairman of the Board, Cyprus Computer Society - CCS

Mr Costas Agrotis holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computers and Management from the State University of New York and an MSc in Public Sector Management from the Cyprus International Institute of Management. After joining the Public Service in 1972 has served in several Departments and joined the then Department of Data Processing Services in 1976. After serving in several positions in the Department as from 1/12/1997 has was appointed as the Director of the Information Technology Services Department of the Government where he served until the 1st of December 2016. He was the representative of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus at the International Council of I.T. in Government Administration (ICA), the CIO Council of the EU and the e-Government Expert Group of the European Union. He was the national representative of Cyprus at the e-Government Committee of the EU for the i-2010 programme which was the Information Society Strategy for the member States, the national co-coordinator for the solution of the Y2K problem in Cyprus, the national representative of Cyprus at the committee for IT and Law of the Council of Europe, the national representative at the Joint High-Level Committee (JHLC) of the European Union for the e-Europe+ programme which was the strategy of the EU for the Information Society in the candidate countries and the national representative of the Republic at the e-Government sub-group of the European Union. In addition to CCS he is also a member of the Association of Business and Administrative Computing, ISACA and PMI.