Six favourite moments from the BHMEA blog in 2025

This week we’re focused on…

The Black Hat MEA blog. And specifically, on the interviews that have stuck in our heads all year. 

Our team has just delivered an incredible 2025 event. Maybe you were one of the 500 exhibitors, 300 speakers, or 40,000+ attendees – if so, thank you for being there with us. With over 200 hours of outstanding cybersecurity content, it was truly an industry-uplifting experience. And we can’t wait to do it again next year. 

Back online, on the blog, our speakers always bring the best candid moments and unexpected admissions; and lines that reframe how we think about security leadership and resilience. 

So across film, energy, aviation, insurance, fashion, and critical infrastructure, here are six speaker insights this year that stayed with us long after we hit publish. 

1. “Worry is a poor strategist – preparation is better.” 

Dimitri Van Zantvliet (CISO at Dutch Railways) distilled an entire philosophy of critical infrastructure defence into a single sentence. In a year dominated by autonomy, OT concerns, and defensive acceleration, this line captured the shift from fear to readiness better than any slide deck could.

2. “Relationships are your force multiplier.”

Daniel Bowden (CISO at Marsh McLennan) reminded us that when it comes to moving between industries at the CISO level, cyber isn’t only about threat models or controls. It’s very much about trust. 

“When you move sectors, your technical skillset won’t save you – contextual awareness and political acumen will.”

3. “Storytelling and public speaking are very useful tools to make the threats more relatable.”

Security awareness is often positioned as a compliance exercise. But Bernard Assaf (CISO at Airbus) reframed it as communication – human, narrative, ongoing.

His perspective reflects a wider realisation across the industry: that employees remember stories, not policies.

4. “We were not afraid to be ahead of the curve and take on new and innovative ideas.”

Dan Meacham (VP, Cyber and Content Security at Legendary Entertainment) reflected on building a cloud-first security programme inside a major film studio. And he captured the creative optimism that defined many of this year’s conversations.

It was a reminder that some of the best security breakthroughs happen when leaders lean in rather than hold back.

5. “I began reminding myself that if I was invited into the room, I belonged in the room.”

Jerich Beason (CISO at WM) was honest about imposter syndrome, and the discipline of not “tech-flexing.” 

It made his interview one of our most loved pieces of 2025; resonating with established CISOs and early-career cybersecurity practitioners alike. 

6. “Clarity is more valuable than complexity.” 

Sounil Yu (Chief AI Officer at Knostic) created the Cyber Defense Matrix, which has guided the practices of CISOs, educators, analysts, investors, and more. 

We think this line captures the foundation of that impact: the industry needs clearer models, not grander ones. 

Catch up on the full interviews

If you missed them the first time around, here are the conversations behind the quotes:

• Dimitri Van Zantvliet — securing rail in the age of AI
• Daniel Bowden — leadership lessons from a sector-hopping CISO
• Bernard Assaf — security culture and storytelling at Airbus
• Dan Meacham — protecting film & streaming content
• Jerich Beason — trust, transparency, and leading without ego
• Sounil Yu — the evolution of the Cyber Defense Matrix

And don’t forget — the leaders and innovators shaping cybersecurity’s future will be live in Riyadh at Black Hat MEA 2026.

We’re still spinning from the 2025 event, but the next edition will come around fast. We can’t wait to see you there.