Cyber risk in the age of AI
As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in enterprise systems, products and critical infrastructure, organizations face a rapidly evolving security landscape. Helen Oakley helps audiences understand what these developments mean in practice and how organizations can prepare for the risks created by increasingly powerful and autonomous technologies.
Keynote Speaker Helen Oakley is a globally recognized expert in cybersecurity, agentic AI security, AI transparency and secure software development. Her work focuses on helping organizations strengthen the security of AI-driven environments while creating the structures needed for responsible innovation, effective governance and long-term resilience.
Helen brings technical cybersecurity expertise together with a clear understanding of enterprise risk. Her keynotes explore how leaders can approach AI security strategically, identifying vulnerabilities early and embedding security into the development process rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Shaping AI security standards
Helen has played a key role in shaping AI security standards for CISA.gov and GenAI.OWASP.org. This experience gives her audiences insight into the frameworks, principles and security considerations influencing how organizations approach AI governance, transparency, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance.
She is also a Founding Partner of the AI Integrity and Safe Use Foundation (AISUF.org), where she contributes to global efforts to establish AI safety and security frameworks for critical infrastructure and enterprise environments.
Helen has authored numerous articles on AI security and has been featured at leading industry conferences discussing the implications of artificial intelligence for cybersecurity. She translates developments in AI security into insights organizations can apply as they introduce new technologies and adapt their existing security practices.
Securing AI and software
As Senior Director of Secure Development at SAP Global Security, Helen leads initiatives designed to help businesses strengthen AI-driven systems, protect critical software infrastructure and prepare for emerging cyber threats.
Her expertise includes the security challenges surrounding software development and software supply chains, as well as the growing risks associated with agentic AI. As AI systems become capable of taking increasingly autonomous actions, organizations need to understand how established cybersecurity principles must evolve alongside these technologies.
Helen helps audiences explore areas including:
- Security-by-design for AI and software development
- Agentic AI security and emerging vulnerabilities
- AI transparency, governance and compliance
- Software supply chain security
- Cyber risk mitigation and organizational resilience
- Security frameworks for enterprise and critical infrastructure
- Building trust into digital transformation
Her approach connects high-level questions about AI governance with the practical realities facing cybersecurity professionals, developers, executives and organizations deploying AI-powered technologies.
Leadership and diversity in cybersecurity
Helen’s influence also extends to cybersecurity leadership and industry collaboration. Named one of the Top 20 Canadian Women in Cybersecurity, she is a sought-after speaker at major industry events, where she shares strategies for future-proofing AI technologies, mitigating security risks and strengthening trust in digital transformation.
She co-founded LeadingCyberLadies.com, an initiative advocating for greater diversity in cybersecurity leadership and fostering global collaboration around AI security best practices. Through this work, Helen contributes to a broader cybersecurity community in which different perspectives and experiences can help organizations respond more effectively to increasingly complex technological challenges.
Her combination of enterprise leadership, technical expertise, standards work and industry advocacy enables her to address cybersecurity from several perspectives. Audiences gain insight into the technology itself as well as the organizational structures, leadership decisions and collaborative approaches required to manage its risks.
Book Helen Oakley for your event
Helen equips leaders and teams to think proactively about AI governance, transparency, compliance and secure development. Rather than allowing security concerns to stand in the way of technological progress, her insights help organizations understand how strong security practices can support responsible innovation and greater resilience.
Whether addressing executives, cybersecurity professionals, technology leaders or teams responsible for developing and implementing AI, Helen makes complex security challenges relevant to the decisions organizations face today.
A keynote with Helen Oakley gives audiences the knowledge and practical perspectives needed to embed security-by-design principles into AI and software development, respond to emerging threats and build greater confidence in digital transformation. As AI continues to reshape enterprise technology, Helen provides organizations with the expertise to approach that transformation with security, resilience and trust at its foundation.
