Werner Nel

Werner Nel is a hacker turned strategist, with a formal degree in ethical hacking and a career spent tearing apart systems to understand how they break — and how to build them back stronger. Formerly holding UK security clearance and rooted in offensive security, he brings a rare blend of technical depth and strategic foresight to tracking and anticipating emerging threats.

He’s reverse-engineered systems, exploited live environments, and turned firsthand knowledge of attacker behavior into actionable security strategies. Today, his focus includes the rising risks of AI-driven exploits and the looming disruption of quantum cryptography. Werner champions the critical need for cyber resilience, arguing that in today’s threat landscape, it’s not a question of if systems will be breached — it’s when. The organizations that will endure are the ones ready to respond, recover, and adapt under pressure. Blending hacker instincts with product vision, he helps organizations stay ahead by thinking like an attacker and building like a strategist.