Mikko Hypponen Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerMikko Hypponen

Chief Research Officer at Sensofusion. Ex CRO at WithSecure (Formerly F-Secure). Cybersecurity & Privacy Expert. Bestselling Author, If it's Smart, it's Vulnerable

Cybersecurity speaker Mikko Hypponen is one of the world’s foremost authorities on cybersecurity. After more than 30 years at WithSecure (formerly F-Secure), where he served as Chief Research Officer, he is now the Chief Research Officer at Sensofusion, a global leader in advanced anti-drone systems. In 2025, Mikko delivered the... Read more

Biography

Cybersecurity speaker Mikko Hypponen is one of the world’s foremost authorities on cybersecurity. After more than 30 years at WithSecure (formerly F-Secure), where he served as Chief Research Officer, he is now the Chief Research Officer at Sensofusion, a global leader in advanced anti-drone systems.

In 2025, Mikko delivered the opening keynote at Black Hat USA, the most prestigious event in cybersecurity, and also spoke at DEF CON, solidifying his position as one of the industry’s most influential voices. In 2024, he was featured at RSA Conference, and across his career he has spoken at all of the world’s major cybersecurity gatherings.

Mikko has been investigating cybercrime for more than 25 years, briefing governments, law enforcement, and Fortune 500 companies. He has served as an advisor to EUROPOL, and his research and commentary have been featured in The New York Times, Wired, and Scientific American.

He is the author of the acclaimed book If It’s Smart, It’s Vulnerable (2022), which explores the history and future of cybersecurity through his unique perspective as one of the field’s most respected thought leaders.

Recognized by PC World as one of the fifty most important people on the internet and listed on the FP Global 100 Thinkers list, Mikko has also given viral TED Talks viewed by millions worldwide. His honors include the Virus Bulletin Award for outstanding contributions to the computer virus field.

From TEDGlobal and SXSW to Google Zeitgeist and Mobile World Congress, Mikko has addressed audiences on the future of security, privacy, and technology. He has also lectured at leading universities including Oxford, Stanford, and Cambridge.

“We organized an event where Mikko made a presentation to a diverse group of 400 senior executives. He was extremely engaging and informative. His presentation was a nice blend of the latest facts and informed predictions delivered in an entertaining style. I would highly recommend Mikko for an enlightening look at the latest trends on cybersecurity.” Michael Wade, Professor of Innovation and Strategy, IMD Business School
“Mikko exhibits a remarkable capacity to make complex technical concepts easy to understand, uncoupling the relevant from the mere buzz, and bringing notable anecdotes and first-hand accounts to his storytelling.” Bruno Giussani, European director, TED
“Mikko made us think and he made us laugh. As a speaker, he was very knowledgeable and inspirational. He made us hope that the talk wouldn’t end just yet!” Emilia Häyrynen MSD
"Few security professionals possess the public speaking skills necessary to convey supreme technical expertise. Hypponen is that rarity." Wired

Popular Talks by Mikko Hypponen

  • Russian Online Attacks against Ukraine

    Nowadays wars are not only fought with tanks, fighter jets, war ships and soldiers. Cyber has become the 5th domain in which we fight our wars and its increasingly becoming a key defense system that countries must protect against attackers. The recent war in Ukraine is the latest example of...

  • Safety and Security of Artificial Intelligence

    Defending against cyber attacks is a never-ending race. Next up, we will see fully automated malware campaigns, most likely using machine learning or generative AI. We defenders have been able to automate much of our work, enabling excellent detection, analysis and reaction times. Next up, attackers will do the same....

  • The Future of Cybersecurity: Fighting Online Crime

    We’ve lived our lives in the middle of a revolution: the internet revolution. During our lifetime, all computers started talking to each other over the internet. Technology around us is changing faster than ever. We’ve already become dependent of our digital devices, and this is just the beginning. As connected...

  • Hacking, Hackers and Online Criminals

    Computer security has gone through several distinct eras. Attacks morph and change every few years. However, the biggest changes we’ve seen have not been technical; they’ve been social. It’s all about the attackers and their motives. To survive, companies need to understand the risks they face. What are the criminal...

  • The Future of Money, Banking and Finance: Cryptocurrencies & the Digital Revolution

    Data is money. The world of finance is now changing faster than ever, due to the digital revolution. Cryptocurrencies and blockchains bring us benefits but also huge problems in the shape of money laundering, online crime and rampant energy use. What’s happening next? Where are we going?

  • The Future of Warfare: Cyber Wars

    Technology shapes our conflicts and crisis. Technology shapes the wars we fight. Cyber has become the 5th domain in which we fight our wars: land war, sea war, air war, space war – and now, cyberspace war. Today, all nations build cyber defences but also offensive cyber technology. We are...

  • The Future of the Internet: Trust & Safety

    Our societies run on computers and software. How does a power plant in Japan trust the logic controllers they bought from a Germany, the routers they bought from China, the workstations they bought from USA and the security system they bought from Russia? It all boils down to trust. Trust....

  • The Best and the Worst Innovation of our Time

    Technology shapes the world. The more successful a new technology becomes, the more reliant we will become of it. This has always happened and will happen in the future too. In many ways, internet is the best and worst innovation done during our lifetime. We were all given a free...