Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky, delivered a keynote at WGS2026 that centered on what he described as the growing accountability gap in cybersecurity, shifting the focus from technical threats alone to the broader questions of governance, responsibility, and coordinated action required to strengthen digital societies.
In his address, Kaspersky argued that the conversation around cybersecurity can no longer remain confined to firewalls, malware detection, and incident response. While acknowledging that adversaries in cyberspace are often intelligent, well organized, and capable of developing sophisticated attacks that are difficult to defend against, he emphasized that persistent large scale hacks and systemic weaknesses reveal deeper structural issues. According to Kaspersky, cyber opposition groups continue to refine advanced attack methods, which contributes to the increasing number of high profile breaches worldwide. However, the repeated success of such attacks also raises uncomfortable questions about why even well resourced companies and institutions sometimes fail to establish sufficiently strong cyber defenses.
A central theme of the keynote was accountability. Kaspersky posed a direct question to policymakers, corporate boards, and security leaders: who should be held responsible when critical cyber oversights occur? He suggested that responsibility cannot rest solely with technical teams or security operations centers. Instead, cybersecurity must be embedded into governance frameworks at the highest levels of decision making. Boards and government authorities, he indicated, must treat cyber resilience as a strategic priority rather than a purely operational concern. Without clear lines of accountability and defined roles across organizations, gaps emerge that can be exploited by threat actors. The keynote encouraged leaders involved in shaping technology policy, national strategy, and enterprise risk management to reflect on where their organizations sit within the accountability chain and whether their governance structures are aligned with today’s threat environment.
Kaspersky further questioned why entities with significant financial and technical resources still experience preventable weaknesses. He pointed to issues such as fragmented oversight, insufficient coordination between departments, and the absence of unified standards as contributing factors. In his view, resilient digital societies require collective action that extends beyond individual organizations. Governments, private enterprises, and international stakeholders must collaborate on clearer frameworks that define responsibility at every layer, from infrastructure providers to end user organizations. By challenging audiences to examine their own roles within this structure, Kaspersky framed cybersecurity not only as a technical discipline but as a governance issue tied to national stability and economic continuity. His keynote at WGS2026 served as a call for structured accountability and shared commitment to strengthening defenses in an environment where cyber adversaries continue to evolve in capability and organization.
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