In Conversation: Cybersecurity in the Age of GenAI – Challenges and Opportunities

/by

The CEE-Swiss IT-Solutions & Cross-Cultural Talent Summit 2025 brought together leading representatives from business, research, and technology in the Aula of ZHAW in Winterthur. A total of around 90 specialists and executives participated, representing 65 companies, including many Swiss firms and 18 IT companies from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Over 250 structured B2B meetings were conducted during the Summit, with many additional informal exchanges throughout the day. These interactions further deepened collaboration and networking between Switzerland and the CEE region and, in several cases, already led to concrete new partnerships and projects.

The program, featuring our high-caliber speakers, focused on Deep Tech, culture and AI, and cybersecurity.

Keynote by Dr. Alessandro Curioni (IBM Research Center)

In his opening address, Dr. Alessandro Curioni emphasized Switzerland’s unique role as a global research hub. He highlighted two parallel technological developments that will shape the coming years:

• A new generation of artificial intelligence – marked by new layers of abstraction that fundamentally change data processing and modeling.
• Quantum computing – a new form of information representation with far-reaching implications for cryptography, simulations, optimization problems, and industrial applications.

Both developments, Curioni explained, will not evolve in isolation but increasingly in synergy, forming the basis for a new era of research, software development, and data-driven applications. IBM in general, and its Research Center established in 1958 in particular, is deeply involved in this transformation.

Panel: Deep Tech with Grazia Frontoso (Data Bricks), Dawid Ostrowski (Google), Knuth Sauer (Helbling)

This panel focused on the future of deep technological innovation and the unique role of Switzerland and the CEE region.

Key points highlighted included:
• Switzerland’s education system and high density of talent,
• the strong position of the CEE region in software development and data science,
• changing engineering roles driven by AI-supported development,
• trends such as agentic AI and spatial reasoning as the next stages of innovation.

Both regions – Switzerland and CEE – were presented as complementary innovation ecosystems that mutually reinforce each other. The potential for collaboration remains immense.

Panel: AI & Culture

This panel explored the importance of cultural intelligence in technological environments. The experts emphasized that technological excellence alone is not a guarantee of success. If a company focuses solely on technical performance, it will eventually be outpaced by more innovative competitors. One example cited was the Swiss textile industry, which, despite being highly technologized, largely disappeared due to competition from low-cost countries. The first companies to fail were those with the strongest focus on technology. Those that remain successful today are textile firms that create high-quality, traditional products rooted in Swiss culture.
Therefore, true success depends on the interplay of technology, culture, openness, transparency, and ethical standards.

Topics discussed included:
• the growing relevance of human-in-the-loop approaches,
• the role of AI governance and ethics,
• differentiation through cultural identity and craftsmanship,
• the need for leadership that understands AI as a strategic priority.

Workshops & Expert Sessions

Following the panels, several parallel sessions offered practical insights and developments from industry and research.

Swiss Business Insight Sessions

Insights into Swiss strategies on digitalization, innovation management, and industrial applications of AI.

Tech Solutions Sessions

Technical presentations and use cases on:
• AI-based enterprise solutions (AI First)

Conversation: Cybersecurity in the Age of Gen AI (Kristian Kabashi and Oliver Bertschinger)

In this two-person conversation, Kristian explained why generative AI currently benefits attackers more than corporate cybersecurity. Today, anyone can become a hacker, and in the future, agent systems will be able to launch massive cyberattacks in parallel. Until now, a human had to sit at a computer; in the future, automated agents will be able to execute far more attacks simultaneously and in coordinated waves.

Kristian also gave several examples of how attackers successfully used deepfakes. He argued that organizations must prepare extensively and proactively. While attacks can never be prevented 100 percent, the right measures can make them much more difficult or even impossible.

The discussion also covered the impact of quantum computing on cybersecurity and encryption. According to Kristian, the only initial advantage of quantum computing is that, at first, the number of potential attackers will be limited, making it easier for companies to defend themselves. Similar to agent-based cyberattacks, where “defender agents” must counter attackers using the same technology, quantum computing will also involve quantum systems defending against quantum systems.

Networking and Apéro

A central element of the Summit were the formal and informal interactions among participants. From coffee to lunch to the closing apéro, many new connections were made, and numerous shared interests were discovered. The day concluded with a delightful Apéro Riche featuring excellent Romanian wine – white, rosé, and red.

Thank you!

The CEE-Swiss IT Solutions & Cross-Cultural Talent Summit 2025 was a great success. Our thanks go to all helpers and especially to our key partners:

Co-Organisator: ZHAW

Hauptpartner: Mindit

Apéro Sponsor: Greater Zurich Area

Wine-Sponsor: Domeniile Averești