Through lectures, deep-dive presentations, best practice examples, and masterclasses, the focus of Span Cyber Security Arena 2026 will be on what strengthens our defense against cyber threats.
Span Cyber Security Arena 2026 will be held in Poreč from May 20 to 22, 2026, at the Pical Resort 5* Valamar Collection. Keynote speakers are Sami Laiho and Joe Tidy.
Sami Laiho is known as one of the world’s leading experts in Windows security. Laiho will provide a retrospective of 2025 and how it changed the cyber threat landscape, as well as share his predictions for the future.
Joe Tidy is a BBC reporter specializing in cyber security and author of the book “Ctrl+Alt+Chaos: How Teenage Hackers Hijack the Internet”, which explores the dark side of teenage hacker culture. In his lecture, Joe will trace the typical path from cheating in video games and social media scams to more sophisticated cyber-attacks.
“For the third year in a row, we are welcoming always excellent Paula Januszkiewicz, while Sami Laiho and Joe Slowik are coming to Croatia for the first time. All three are top experts who, in addition to lectures, will also hold masterclasses where participants will gain practical tools and strategies applicable in real-world environments. The masterclasses will be held two days before the conference at the same location in Poreč,” says Hrvoje Englman, Program Director of Span Cyber Security Arena and Span’s CISO.
The Arena will also place emphasis on the application of the Cybersecurity Act in daily business operations, as well as the challenges and opportunities arising from European certification schemes and other relevant EU policies.
“Alongside a rich technical program, we will focus on the non-technical aspects of cyber security, an area that is becoming as important as the technological solutions that accompany it,” explained Antonija Vojnović, Program Director of the Span Cyber Security Arena and Head of the GRC Department at Span.
The conference, which gathered over 450 participants in Opatija this May, is intended for everyone involved in cyber security topics, whether they work in regulatory and legal affairs or technical implementation. A wide selection of program topics and speakers from various fields cover content for every position: from specialists and experts, through management, to C-level.