The city of San Francisco, California, was again the world epicenter of cybersecurity with the RSA 2025 conference, an event that brings together trends, emerging technologies and concerns about digital protection. This year, the conference reached a record of almost 44,000 attendees who observed 730 speakers and 650 exhibitors.
“Cybersecurity is more present than ever, and the world is increasingly aware of its importance. This global awakening towards digital security is accompanied by a greater diversity of actors and solutions, which, although enriches the ecosystem, also complicates it,” says David López Agudelo, vice president of sales for Latin America in Appgate, who shared his experiences and reflections on this event.
The new security map: amplitude, complexity and opportunity
David López Agudelo
According to López Agudelo, one of the clearest messages of this edition of the RSA conference is that cybersecurity has become a broad and multifaceted universe, which represents both an advantage and a challenge.
On the one hand, there is a wide variety of solutions capable of addressing risks from multiple fronts: artificial intelligence, vulnerabilities management, analytical, offensive and defensive responses, identity, access and visibility, to name a few. On the other hand, that diversity can generate uncertainty, especially for those who must make decisions without a clear guide among so many options.
“There are many ways to solve the challenges, but that also generates confusion. There is no silver bullet, and that complicates decision making for customers,” he says.
Safe access requires transversality and context
According to the Appgate executive, one of the great mistakes that are still made is to reduce safe access to an external user issue. “A user can be external today and internal tomorrow. Therefore, access strategies must be safe and transversal, based on multiple criteria such as position and context, and not only in the location,” he explains.
Within this framework, concepts such as transverse safe access and universal strategy ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access) arise as effective approaches. The premise is simple: to ensure that access is controlled, regardless of user location and connection destination (cloud, premises, inherited systems, SAAS, etc.), considering its context, behavior and access posture.
The AI, an ally of defenders and attackers
Another of the great protagonists in the discussions of the RSA conference was artificial intelligence, but from a dual perspective. It is no longer a futuristic promise, but an indispensable tool both to protect and to attack. AI is used by defenders and attackers equally, and its adoption is key to managing the volume of threats faced by organizations. Not only is it about detecting incidents, but also operating with speed, scale and precision in an environment where noise is unmanageable without automation.
“There is much talk about the positive use of AI, but the attackers are also using it often better. That is why it is no longer possible to manage cybersecurity without artificial intelligence,” says López Agudelo. “From fraud management to alert prioritization, AI has become essential to the growth of data, threats and attack vectors.”
Privacy as a battlefield
From the hand with AI, the issue of privacy is gaining strength. The global regulation is based on a model in which the data belongs to the user, which completely transforms business dynamics. Surface policies are no longer enough; Organizations must offer tangible mechanisms so that people manage their information: know what is stored, for what purpose and how to eliminate it.
The APPGATE executive warns that, “with the new regulations, companies must demonstrate that they protect the data effectively. A privacy notice is not enough. Technological solutions are required that give the user visibility and control over their information in an increasingly demanding digital environment.”
Latin America approaches a conscious cybersecurity strategy
For Latin America, the reflections of the RSA conference also represent a call to reflection. Although the region has advanced in its opening to strategic dialogue, the tendency to acquire solutions for cost, ease or budget pressure still persists, without considering or achieving real integration. This fragmented vision generates silos, technological overload and lack of visibility.
“Many organizations activate functions due to impulse or convenience, without building a solid architecture aligned with business risk. It is not about acquiring what is fashionable, but what really solves. It is time to leave old habits behind and start designing models more appropriate to our reality,” emphasizes López Agudelo.
The RSA 2025 conference made it clear that the real challenge for organizations is not to adopt more technology, but in rethinking its approach: passing impulsive purchases to a conscious strategy based on risk, business and local context. “Effective cybersecurity is not about accumulating solutions, but about building a coherent architecture, with vision, adequate allies and a culture that understands that protecting is not only to acquire, but to integrate, evolve and act with purpose,” concludes the Vice President of Sales for Latin America in Appgate.
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