Eddy  Willems Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerEddy Willems

Independent Security Evangelist at WAVCi, Cyber Security Expert, International Keynote Speaker, Author #Cyberdanger #HetVirus, Director, COO CSA

Eddy Willems is a worldwide known cyber security expert from Belgium. He is a board member of 2 security industry organizations, EICAR and LSEC, and is independent Security Evangelist at WAVCi, his own company. Since 1989, he is Belgian’s internationally most quoted cyber security expert. In 1989, Eddy was introduced... Read more

Biography

Eddy Willems is a worldwide known cyber security expert from Belgium. He is a board member of 2 security industry organizations, EICAR and LSEC, and is independent Security Evangelist at WAVCi, his own company. Since 1989, he is Belgian’s internationally most quoted cyber security expert.

In 1989, Eddy was introduced to the early cyber security industry due to an incident with the very first ransomware, the AIDS information trojan. Willems still owns the last remaining physical copy worldwide. He became a founding member of EICAR in 1991, one of the world’s first security IT organizations. Eddy has been working for nearly 4 decades as cyber security expert for several security companies like G DATA, Kaspersky and Westcon. He is also COO of CSA (Clean Software Alliance) since 2024.

In 2013 he published his first book ‘Cyberdanger’ in English, German and Dutch. He is also co-author of the SF cyberthriller ‘The Virus’ (Dutch 2022, English version coming end 2025). Eddy is a known inspiring speaker and is giving lectures and presentations (including TEDx) worldwide for a very diverse audience from children to experts.

Popular Talks by Eddy Willems

  • Cyberdangers and the future
    During this lecture Eddy Willems will give you his view on the cyber dangers which threatened the world the past years. Why is a 36 year old problem still the biggest security problem these days? Did we ever learn? Eddy shows the real threats. The business world is unfortunately a...
  • My wife went to the Dark … Web
    During this lecture Eddy Willems will tell you the real story how his wife found the Dark Web. Eddy will tell you more about what she expected to find over there and what she finally found as a normal pc user. Did she really buy that Glock 17M?  Is the Dark...
  • The real truth behind ransomware and most other malware
    This lecture will give you the real story behind ransomware. Is ransomware something new or is it old? Eddy Willems will give you an overview of how pc’s or other devices from companies and home users can be infected. What are the real problems? Why does it seems to be...
  • Diskettes with a story: The basics of cybersecurity
    Some people want to become pilots, some people want to be doctors. We all have our own dreams. But what if your dream actually comes true? This lecture will take you back to a pivotal stage in the life of Eddy Willems more than 30 years ago. Eddy will tell...
  • What can you learn from nation-state cyberattacks?
    Eddy Willems will give you his view on nation-state cyberattacks during this lecture. What should you be afraid of as a company, organization or as an individual? Are you sure you did the right thing to be ready? Are nation-state attacks not exaggerated? Eddy dives into the dark world of...