Confidence Staveley

Good, better, best, I will never rest, until my good is better and my better best

Profile

Confidence Staveley is Africa’s most celebrated female Cybersecurity Leader, Talent Developer,

Blockchain Security Professional, Global Speaker and Inclusion advocate. She has achieved numerous professional certifications and industry recognitions for her outstanding work.

Confidence is an official member of the Forbes Technology Council, an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs, and technology executives. Winner of the 2023 Cybersecurity Woman of the World Award.

Confidence’s superpower? A deep understanding of cybersecurity, fused with great communication skills, enables her to communicate cybersecurity best practices in a relatable and engaging way with no jargon to audiences of all types. Little wonder she has been nicknamed “The Relatable CyberSecurity Queen”.

Cybersecurity Woman of the Year, IFSEC Global Top Influencer in Security & Fire 2021, Top 50 women in Cybersecurity Africa, Meridian Global Leadership Award, etc. She is an alumnus of some of the most prestigious fellowships across the world, such as the 2021 Obama Foundation African Leaders, International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP), etc.

Confidence has spoken at conferences around the world, including the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council Meeting in Europe and North America, the World Bank Digital Development Seminar, etc. It is a testament to her global thought leadership and influence.

She is the Founder of CyberSafe Foundation, an NGO improving inclusive and safe digital access in Africa, and Co-Founder of MerkleFence, an Application-Security-As-A-Service consulting company.

Expertise

Talking Points

When AI Becomes the Hacker…

This talk provides a peek into the present and near future where AI is not just a defensive tool, but a powerful weapon in the hands of cybercriminals. Confidence Staveley paints a picture of an increasingly automated cyber threat landscape, where AI-driven attacks challenge the very foundations of current cybersecurity defenses.

The talk begins by exploring how AI has changed cybersecurity by enabling faster threat detection, predictive analytics, and automated responses, these same capabilities can be exploited by the bad guys as well. She uses powerful storytelling skills to detail how AI is being weaponized to conduct highly sophisticated attacks, such as AI-generated phishing campaigns that are difficult to distinguish from legitimate communications or create malware that continuously evolves to avoid detection by traditional security tools.

A particularly thought-provoking aspect of the talk is the discussion on the potential for AI to independently find and exploit vulnerabilities in systems, evolving independently from its creators. This raises the unsettling possibility of AI-driven attacks that are a new form of digital life with its own agenda—a scenario where the hacker is not a person but an autonomous entity.

If AI becomes the hacker, traditional defense mechanisms will likely become obsolete.

Building Trust is the Only Future That Matters

In our technology-shaped world, where “seeing is not believing”, digital trust is the foundation that ensures progress and innovation continue. It’s not just about keeping data secure or complying with regulations; it’s about creating a digital environment that people can truly rely on. This talk will argue that rebuilding digital trust means designing technology that feels safe, experiences that resonate, and solutions that empower everyone. Because without digital trust, the future of technology loses its potential to meaningfully transform our world.

Women and Cybersecurity: Creating A More Inclusive Cyberspace

How can we initiate a global conversation on cybersecurity and gender issues, and bring perspectives from different stakeholders to a common platform to:

Look at the relevance of gender disparities/inequalities in cybersecurity and define the need to focus on actionable measures to close the gender workforce and awareness gap.

Highlight current good practices on how women are being included in cybersecurity roles across sectors.

Discuss the various challenges faced by women as cybersecurity professionals and internet users, and possible ways to address them.

Outline the advantages of including women in the cybersecurity workforce.

Define what governments, civil society, and the private sector can do to make this space more diverse, inclusive, and safer.

Data Protection and Cyber Security in the Growing Digital Economy

Given the rapid growth in cyber-attacks and digital crime vis-à-vis the current acceptance of digital trading, this session will seek to answer the following questions;

How effective are our cyber security measures? How can data protection impact the digital economy? Cybercrime is one impediment to a thriving digital economy. How can professionals utilize international, regional, and private sector cooperation to address the cybercrime pandemic? How could developing countries build capacities, including skills, to use new and emerging technologies such as big data analytics and artificial intelligence to grow the digital economy?

The Payment Threat Landscape: Today and Tomorrow

As the world becomes more digitally connected and the drive for financial inclusion grows, the payment threat landscape has also expanded. In this session, we explore the payment threat landscape throughout the world, showcasing creative ideas for driving user-centric cybersecurity awareness campaigns and signposting predictions for the future of payments globally.

Boosting Digital Transformation – Data As A Development Enabler

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global economy, bringing to the fore both the critical role data plays in creating growth opportunities and solving development challenges as well as the existing global data inequalities. How do we tap the full value of data, ensuring equitable access for all, including less advantaged people? What reforms are needed in data governance to protect individuals, businesses, and societies from risks or harm? Data’s transformative role in digital transformation is being debated globally.

Japan aims for a human-centered society called “Society 5.0”, where physical and cyberspace are closely integrated, and everyone can lead a comfortable, energetic, and high-quality life and the aim is also to realize this in developing countries. In addition, the value of data by free flow with trust becomes increasingly important to create innovations and new business models for the aimed society. Toward this goal, the Government of Japan through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) and JICA is supporting to development of the ICT infrastructure and promote utilizing digital technologies and data in African countries and other regions.

Similarly, the World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives explores the tremendous potential of the changing data landscape to improve the lives of less advantaged people, while also acknowledging its potential to open back doors that can harm individuals, businesses, and societies. To address this tension between the helpful and harmful potential of data, this report calls for a new social contract that enables the use and reuse of data to create economic and social value, ensures equitable access to that value, and fosters trust that data will not be misused in harmful ways. Using these three principles, the report offers an aspirational vision of an Integrated National Data System (INDS) supported by effective data governance frameworks, a way for countries to realize the full potential for data to improve lives, especially of the most vulnerable of the world.

Topics

Innovation

Media

Video

Confidence Stavely - EU, the Payment Threat Landscape - Today and Tomorrow

Journalism and cyber security issues | GMF Talk with Confidence Staveley

What do media professionals, who often handle sensitive data in their work, need to bear in mind when it comes to cyber security? In this GMF Talk, cybersecurity expert Confidence Staveley shares her insights with DW's Sertan Sanderson.

Africa's Most Celebrated Cybersecurity Expert | Meet Confidence Staveley

We're excited to introduce you to Confidence Staveley. Confidence is Africa's most celebrated female cybersecurity leader, talent developer, global speaker, blockchain security professional, and inclusion advocate, she is the founder and executive director of CyberSafe Foundation, a leading non-governmental organization dedicated to improving inclusive and safe digital access in Africa.

Confidence Staveley | Saxton Speakers

Webcast API Governance Creating a Success Recipe | Confidence Staveley | Saxton Speakers

The Payment Threat Landscape | Confidence Staveley | Saxton Speakers

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