Cybersecurity: Threat or Opportunity

From phishing campaigns to software supply chain attacks, cybersecurity has become one of the most pressing — and complex — challenges for technology leaders. What was once considered a technical safeguard is now a strategic imperative, with regulatory frameworks like NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) pushing organizations to invest in structured, measurable, and provable security practices.

But with growing compliance pressure, talent shortages, and ever-evolving attack vectors — how can CTOs balance innovation, time to market and security without slowing down their teams? Is security still a necessary evil, or can it become a genuine enabler of trust, quality, and resilience?

This session dives into the technical, organizational, and cultural dimensions of cybersecurity — from building a proactive security culture to managing certifications and understanding when “good enough” really is.

Expect honest conversations about prioritization, governance, and collaboration between CTOs, CISOs, and development teams — as well as practical advice for scaling security maturity without killing agility.

### Agenda

18:30 – Arrival & Drinks
19:30 – Panel Discussion

• Threat Landscape 2025 – From phishing to supply chain attacks: what are we really up against?
• Security by Design – Integrating security thinking into product development without slowing delivery.
• Regulations & Compliance – Making sense of NIS2, CRA, and ISO certifications — turning compliance from burden to advantage.
• The Role of the CISO – Building alignment between security and technology leadership.
• Culture & Awareness – How to build a team that treats security as everyone’s job.

20:30 – Networking: Connect with fellow tech leaders, share experiences, and discuss actionable strategies to strengthen your organization’s security posture — while keeping your teams empowered and your products moving fast.

Enjoy food and drinks courtesy of our host avodaq.

Join us for an evening of real talk, shared experience, and actionable ideas.

The panel consists of:

• Sebastian Bonk, Senior Manager and Head of Software Development at avodaq AG, leads the company’s efforts in secure, data-driven digitalization and automation. He established an AI and Observability portfolio that strengthens avodaq’s foundation for resilient and secure analytics platforms. His leadership unites security, observability, and agility to drive digital resilience across technology, processes, and people.
• Sergii Smyrnov, is an Engineering Manager at AMBOSS leading platform teams focused on authentication/authorization infrastructure, security compliance and CI/CD modernization. With 15+ years of experience in engineering, he has hands-on expertise in architecting secure systems, implementing brute-force attack prevention, and driving organization-wide security migrations across healthcare tech, e-commerce, and logistics platforms.

The CTO Roundtable is organized by Elmar Weber (CTO at Thieme) and Christoph Beckmann (Founder/CTO at TechMiners). If you're interested in sponsoring, hosting, or contributing a topic for upcoming events, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Location:
avodaq AG
Gutenbergstr. 15, 10587 Berlin