AI Security Engineers - Cape Town, ZA

# The Day Auto Mode Met Malware + Navigating the OWASP GenAI Landscape

Generative AI and AI-powered developer tools are rapidly changing the way we build, deploy, and interact with software.
But as AI becomes increasingly embedded in development workflows, new security challenges are emerging, from compromised developer environments and autonomous AI agents to prompt injection, data exposure, excessive agency, and AI supply-chain risks.
Join AI Security Engineers - Cape Town for a practical AI Security event featuring two guest speakers, exploring both a real-world AI-enabled developer-tool compromise and the broader OWASP GenAI security landscape.

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# Talk 1: The Day Auto Mode Met Malware

Speaker: Abed Matini
What happens when an AI-powered developer tool becomes part of a real-world security incident?
The Day Auto Mode Met Malware is a first-person walkthrough of a developer-tool compromise during an MVP build, from a blocked network, to a wiped laptop, to discovering that the malware was still calling home after a “fix.”
Abed Matini will walk through what happened, how the compromise unfolded, and the practical security lessons for anyone building or shipping software with AI agents.

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# Talk 2: Navigating the OWASP GenAI Landscape

Speaker: Callian Berends

Generative AI is rapidly changing the way we build, deploy, and interact with software, but securing these systems requires more than traditional application security practices.

In this session, Callian Berends will take a practical tour through the OWASP GenAI Security Project and its growing ecosystem of security guidance, frameworks, tools, testing methodologies, and governance resources.
Rather than focusing on a single OWASP publication, this talk will explore how the different projects and resources fit together and how security practitioners can use them throughout the AI security lifecycle.

### The session will cover four key areas:

🔹 Core Guidance & Frameworks
Understanding resources such as the OWASP GenAI LLM Top 10, security guidance, verification approaches, and emerging guidance for agentic AI.

🔹 Tools & Automation
Exploring GenAI security testing, red teaming, evaluation, benchmarks, and the growing ecosystem of tools available to security teams.

🔹 Best Practices & Resources
A practical look at knowledge bases, cheat sheets, research, community resources, and other materials available to help practitioners build their GenAI security knowledge.

🔹 Governance & Trust
Looking beyond vulnerabilities to explore AI governance, privacy, security risk management, trust, safety, and responsible adoption.
The talk will also connect these resources to real-world GenAI security scenarios, including:

• Prompt injection
• Data exposure
• RAG security
• Agentic workflows
• Excessive agency
• AI supply-chain risks

### Key Takeaways

By the end of the session, attendees will:

• Understand the OWASP GenAI Security Project ecosystem
• Know which OWASP resources to use at different stages of the AI security lifecycle
• Understand the difference between GenAI security guidance, testing, red teaming, and governance
• Discover practical resources for getting started with AI security
• Learn how OWASP guidance can complement existing AppSec and DevSecOps practices
• Leave with a practical roadmap for continuing their GenAI security journey

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# Two Talks. Two Perspectives on AI Security.

Together, these sessions explore AI security from two complementary perspectives.

Real-world experience:
What can happen when AI-powered developer tools and autonomous agents interact with real development environments?

Security frameworks and practice:
How can security practitioners navigate the rapidly growing ecosystem of GenAI security guidance, testing tools, frameworks, and governance resources?

Whether you're building AI systems, securing applications, using AI coding assistants, or responsible for security governance, these sessions will provide practical ideas, lessons, and resources you can take back to your own environment.

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# Who Should Attend?

This event is aimed at anyone interested in the security implications of Generative AI and AI-powered development.
Particularly relevant for:

• Security professionals
• Application Security practitioners
• DevSecOps engineers
• Cloud Security professionals
• Software developers and engineers
• AI/ML professionals
• Red Teamers and penetration testers
• Security architects
• Governance, Risk & Compliance professionals
• Engineering leaders
• Anyone experimenting with AI coding assistants or autonomous AI agents

No advanced AI security experience is required.

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# Event Details

🎤 Guest Speakers:
Abed Matini
The Day Auto Mode Met Malware
Callian Berends
Navigating the OWASP GenAI Landscape
📅 Date: Saturday, 3 October 2026
🤝 Registration & Networking: 09:45 – 10:30
⏰ Event Start: 10:30
🏁 Event End: 13:00
🍽️ Lunch & Networking: 13:00 – 14:00
📍 Location: AWS Skills Center, Cape Town
⚠️ Attendee Limit: 60

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# Explore the OWASP GenAI Security Project