SecTor 2026 Keynotes to Address AI's Impact on Civil Society Threats, Enterprise Security, and Counterintelligence

Ron Deibert and Helen Oakley will examine how AI is changing threats to civil society and the security implications of autonomous enterprise systems

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SecTor, Canada’s largest cybersecurity conference, today announced Ron Deibert, Director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto; and Helen Oakley, Strategic Advisor, AI & Cybersecurity, as Keynote speakers for SecTor 2026, taking place October 6 to October 8 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

This year’s Keynote programming reflects a rapidly changing security environment in which AI is altering both the threats organizations face and the systems they must defend.

Keynote Lineup:

• Wednesday, October 7 at 9:00 AM – On Counterintelligence for Civil Society
  
  
  • Speaker: Ron Deibert, Director of the Citizen Lab, University of Toronto
    
    
  • Topic: For the last 25 years, the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab has pioneered counterintelligence in the public interest. This Keynote will examine how that work can protect journalists, human rights defenders, activists, and other high-risk populations, and how advances in artificial intelligence are making it more vital than ever.
    
    
• Thursday, October 8 at 9:00 AM – Who Gets to Decide? Security in the Agentic Enterprise
  
  
  • Speaker: Helen Oakley, Strategic Advisor, AI & Cybersecurity
    
    
  • Topic: The rise of agentic AI is fundamentally changing how decisions, actions, and authority flow across enterprise environments. This Keynote will address the safeguards enterprises need as AI agents gain greater authority to decide, delegate, and act across enterprise systems.

In addition to the Keynote programming, the event will feature over 40 Briefings selected by the SecTor Review Board, a full day of Summits, over 50 Sponsored Insights, and 36 Arsenal tool demos.

Registration:

For registration and additional information on SecTor 2026, please visit https://blackhat.com/sector/.

Top Sponsors and Partners of SecTor 2026 include:

• Diamond Sponsors: Concentric AI, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Sophos, and TrendAI.
• Platinum Sponsors: ManageEngine, Okta, Qualys, Rubrik, Thales, ThreatLocker, and Wiz.
• Apex Partners: ThreatLocker.
• Strategic Partners: Cisco, Cyera, Google, ManageEngine, Microsoft, Qualys, ReliaQuest, SentinelOne, ServiceNow, Specter Ops, Tenable, TrendAI, Varonis, and Wiz.
• Global Partners: Broadcom, Cellebrite, Censys, Concentric AI, Corellium, Fortra, HackerOne, Semgrep, Tines, Tracebit, VulnCheck, wolfSSL, XBOW, and Zenity.

About SecTor

Since 2007, SecTor, Canada’s largest cybersecurity conference, has brought relevant, engaging, and reputable content for the benefit of the Canadian cybersecurity community. As one of the global events in Black Hat’s portfolio, SecTor provides an unmatched opportunity for security professionals to connect with their peers and learn from their mentors. For more information on SecTor, please visit blackhat.com/sector.

About Black Hat

Black Hat is the cybersecurity industry’s most established and in-depth security event series. Founded in 1997, these annual, multi-day events provide attendees with the latest in cybersecurity research, development, and trends. Driven by the needs of the community, Black Hat events showcase content directly from the community through Briefings presentations, Trainings courses, Summits, and more. As the event series where all career levels and academic disciplines convene to collaborate, network, and discuss the cybersecurity topics that matter most to them, attendees can find Black Hat events in the United States, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia. For more information, please visit blackhat.com.