Last week, Check Point hosted its annual Cyber Leader Summit at Landing Forty-Two in London’s iconic Leadenhall Building. The summit convened influential figures from the cybersecurity, law enforcement, and enterprise communities to explore the rapidly evolving threat landscape and the transformative role of artificial intelligence. Key discussions focused on the urgent need for proactive, resilience-focused strategies to help organisations stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
“The conversations at the Cyber Leader Summit made one thing clear: resilience in the AI era won’t come from isolated efforts or closed systems. It will come from a new kind of openness, one where organisations embrace integration, collaboration, and shared intelligence. An Open Garden approach isn’t just a technical strategy; it’s a leadership mindset. It’s how we future-proof our defences in a world where the only constant is change,” said Nadav Zafrir, Check Point’s CEO.
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Highlights from the Cyber Leader Summit London
The summit placed a spotlight on the growing urgency surrounding AI-related risks and data exposure. Drawing from Check Point’s 2025 AI Security Report, it was revealed that 1 in every 80 GenAI prompts contains sensitive data, while 7.5% of prompts include private or confidential information. These findings sparked in-depth discussions among CISOs about the critical need for robust AI governance frameworks and tighter controls over prompt engineering and data handling.
On the theme of strategic AI defence, Deryck Mitchelson, Check Point’s Head of Global CISO Team, presented a blueprint to help security leaders align AI-focused security objectives with broader executive priorities, enabling them to secure greater investment and influence. Complementing this, Kieran Baker, Head of MSS at Grant Thornton UK, showcased practical applications of generative AI in enhancing threat detection and incident response. He emphasised the need for security operations to transition from reactive defence to more predictive and automated approaches for threat mitigation.
A leadership panel, moderated by CEO Nadav Zafrir, explored the ethical integration of AI and its impact on workforce transformation. Senior leaders from Capita, The London Stock Exchange Group, The Access Group, and Bolton NHS Foundation Trust shared strategies for embedding AI into business models. Their recommendations included establishing AI ethics committees, implementing training programmes on responsible AI usage, and adapting hiring practices to focus on agility, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making.
Cyber resilience emerged as a cultural imperative throughout the day. Keynote speaker Lara Vafiadis, solo ocean rower and founder of This Girl Rows, shared her personal journey of endurance and resilience, drawing powerful parallels between solo expeditions and organisational challenges. Echoing this theme, Jon Hammant from AWS advocated for a decentralised approach to security by empowering “Security Guardians” across departments, helping to foster a culture of cybersecurity awareness beyond the IT team.
From a law enforcement perspective, William Lyne, Head of Cyber Intelligence at the UK’s National Crime Agency, provided insight into how the agency is working to disrupt the cybercrime economy. He underscored the importance of public-private collaboration, particularly in intelligence sharing and digital evidence collection, to counter adversaries increasingly leveraging AI tools in their attacks.
Finally, Yochai Corem, VP of External Risk Management at Check Point, addressed the challenge of managing an organisation’s external attack surface. He emphasized the need for continuous risk monitoring, AI-powered exposure assessments, and the development of proactive defense strategies informed by external threat intelligence.
“This year’s summit exemplified how collaboration, innovation, and leadership are the cornerstones of cyber resilience,” said Mark Weir, Regional Director UK and Ireland at Check Point. “As AI accelerates both opportunities and risks, staying ahead requires shared intelligence, advanced tools, and a culture that makes security everyone’s responsibility.”
