Cybersecurity

Speaking exclusively to CIO South Africa, Palo Alto Networks chief information officer Meerah Rajavel explains why offline power outages do not solve your security issues, sharing a global playbook for local digital transformation.

If your cyber security strategy is measured by the number of security products you own, then you are measuring the wrong thing.

CIOs still approach cybersecurity as if attackers are trying to “break in”. That thinking is outdated. Modern cybercriminals are not smashing through firewalls wearing hoodies in dark rooms. They are logging in through the front door using stolen credentials, hijacked Microsoft 365 accounts and employees who unknowingly hand over access every single day.

Hans Zachar, 2025 CIO Awards Cybersecurity award-winner, built Nutun’s international technology platform with the same quiet discipline that shaped his life growing up in Edenvale. For the group chief technology and information officer, global scale, trust and innovation have always been about people first – and systems second.

As AI and automation continue to proliferate in workplaces, there is growing tension in boardrooms across South Africa as cyber threats become an increasingly pressing issue for CIOs. IT leaders unpack how they are building cyber resilience while enabling innovation in their organisations.

Direct Transact CIO Dirk Labuschagne discusses why IT chiefs in the financial services should convince their boards to invest in a three-pronged defence approach.

At the 2025 Microsoft Digital Defence Report press briefing on 3 November, Kerissa Varma, chief security advisor at Microsoft Africa, outlined the key cyber threats facing South African organisations and the urgent need to shift from reactive to proactive security strategies.

At the University of Johannesburg (UJ), CIO Maletsema Phofu is redefining the balance between innovation and security by championing collaboration, business alignment and clear communication across the institution’s digital landscape.

During a session titled 'From risk to reality: Lessons learnt from an actual cyber liability insurance claim', Marsh Africa’s Teri Solomon and Chris Shorter shared real-world insights on managing cybersecurity in a borderless environment.

Galeboe Mogotsi, industry leader and cybersecurity expert at the University of the Witwatersrand, shares the importance of creating a culture of security awareness.

The recent Google Cloud breach serves as a sharp reminder that even the most advanced platforms are vulnerable. glu CIO Sibusiso Mbingo says the incident highlights key priorities for CIOs and CISOs.

Sasfin Wealth head of IT Reshen Sukhram believes a unified response to cybersecurity is key to corporate survival. He stressed this at the recent CIO Day held in Johannesburg.

Direct Transact’s (DT) head of cybersecurity, Dirk Labuschagne, unpacks the vulnerabilities facing South Africa's financial sector and shares practical strategies for organisational resilience.

Barloworld’s Karin Höne learnt during dog training that reward can be a powerful motivator and uses this in her career to retain and attract top cyber talent.

Farieda Mayet, chief information officer at Netstar, shares the cybersecurity challenges that keep CIOs awake at night, and the innovative tools helping them combat cyber-threats.

Galeboe Mogotsi, chief information and security officer (CISO) at the University of the Witwatersrand, urges fellow information officers and cybersecurity experts to explore zero trust architecture (ZTA), a cutting-edge approach to safeguarding an organisation’s digital assets.

Muhammad Ali Bhikhan, CIO – Absa Regional Operations, discusses the Joint Standard on cybersecurity and cyber resilience requirements, CIOs need to know, and strategies for maintaining resilience.

Galeboe Mogotsi, chief information and security officer (CISO) at the University of the Witwatersrand, discusses the imperative to fortify the cybersecurity foundations of generative AI. 

Newly appointed chief information and security officer (CISO) at the University of the Witwatersrand Galeboe Mogotsi discusses the important role security officers must play in shaping the country’s cybersecurity laws.

At an honest, yet fruitful brainstorm discussion, IT leaders relayed their biggest cybersecurity fears, and what they are doing to prepare.