GovWare Conference and Exhibition 2026 will focus on security, governance and accountability as artificial intelligence systems gain the capability to make decisions and take action with greater autonomy. Taking place from 13 to 15 October at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore, the gathering is the anchor trade platform of Singapore International Cyber Week, supported by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore. Organisers anticipate welcoming more than 15,000 attendees from over 90 countries and regions, who will convene alongside upwards of 300 speakers and 300 exhibitors.
This year’s theme, “Anchored in Unchanging Principles, Cyber at Agentic Velocity,” centres on AI systems that can interpret signals, support decisions and trigger actions. As the duration between an incoming signal, an operational decision and its consequences becomes shorter, the programme will examine how organisations assign authority, retain human judgement and establish accountability.
Richard Ireland, Chief Executive Officer of GovWare, linked this expanding autonomy directly to the requirement for coordinated action across government, industry and the wider cybersecurity community. “Cybersecurity took several decades to evolve from a specialist technology concern into a whole-of-economy responsibility. AI is now driving another transformation, only at far greater speed,” said Ireland. “As systems become capable of making decisions and taking action with greater autonomy, no organisation can navigate the implications alone. The need to connect government, industry and practitioners, exchange knowledge and build trusted partnerships becomes more important, not less.”
Programme examines autonomous AI and security
Across three days, GovWare will examine how increasingly autonomous systems affect security operations, enterprise infrastructure and governance frameworks. Deliberations will focus on protecting core systems, designing secure architectures and managing complex cyber risks that cross organisations, industries and national borders.
The speaker line-up brings together leaders from government, research organisations and cybersecurity companies. Jonathan Zanger, Chief Technology Officer at Check Point Software Technologies; Therese Quieta, Head of System Engineering at the Centre for Advanced Technologies in Online Safety at A*STAR; Bartley Richardson, Chief AI and Autonomous Systems Officer at CrowdStrike; and Hoo Chuan Wei, Chief Information Security Officer at StarHub, are among those scheduled to address delegates. Other confirmed participants include David Koh, Deputy Chairman of Ensign InfoSecurity; Snehal Antani, Co-founder and CEO of Horizon3.ai; Kavitha Mariappan, Chief Transformation Officer at Rubrik; and Amir Ben-Efraim, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Menlo Security.
Financial services and healthcare focus on continuity
GovWare will also run closed-door Critical Information Infrastructure forums for financial services and healthcare. Both specialised programmes will examine practical pathways to ensure essential services can continue during severe cyber disruption.
The financial services forum will address AI governance, post-quantum readiness, technology concentration risk and methods for maintaining financial services during disruption, featuring “Keeping Money Moving,” a live incident scenario focused on service continuity during a cyber incident. In the healthcare forum, discussions will focus on patient safety, continuity of care, AI adoption, third-party risk and operational resilience. The healthcare track also incorporates a scenario-based discussion, “Keeping Care Running, Operational & Cyber Resilience in Action,” to examine how healthcare organisations can sustain critical care during an active cyber disruption.
International and Singapore cybersecurity firms join the exhibition
On the exhibition floor, international participation includes country pavilions from the Czech Republic, Finland and France, with Italy participating for the first time. Singapore-based cybersecurity development will also be represented through a showcase jointly presented by the CyberSG Research & Development Programme Office and the CyberSG Talent, Innovation and Growth Collaboration Centre.
The showcase will bring together 10 cybersecurity innovators, including StrongKeep, AI Guardian and AgentSure. Their technologies cover AI security, accountability for agentic AI systems and post-quantum readiness. Registration for GovWare 2026 is open.
