Alex Seger to keynote APWG eCrime 2026 in Lisbon

The Anti-Phishing Working Group has tapped former Council of Europe cybercrime chief Alexander Seger to deliver the cyber policy keynote at APWG eCrime 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal, Nov. 2-6. Seger will address AI-driven cybercrime and the Budapest Convention, then moderate a session on state-sponsored cybercrime and deterrence.

Why it matters: - Alexander Seger is a major cybercrime policy figure with two decades of experience shaping international law enforcement cooperation. - His keynote signals that APWG eCrime 2026 will center both the policy and technical responses to AI-enabled cybercrime. - The symposium also aims to spotlight deterrence against state-sponsored cybercrime, a growing concern for governments and security teams.

What happened: - The Anti-Phishing Working Group announced Alexander Seger as the cyber policy keynote speaker for APWG eCrime 2026. - APWG eCrime 2026 will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, from Nov. 2-6, 2026. - Seger will focus his keynote on cybercrime in artificial intelligence and the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. - Seger will also moderate a session titled “The Rise of the Cybercriminal State.”

The details: - Seger led work on the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime for more than 20 years. - The Budapest Convention is described as the oldest and most broadly adopted cybercrime law enforcement cooperation treaty. - The “Rise of the Cybercriminal State” session will examine state-sponsored cybercrime and deterrence. - Seger served at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg from 1999 to September 2025. - From 2011 on, Seger oversaw the framework of the Convention on Cybercrime. - Seger also served as Executive Secretary of the Cybercrime Convention Committee in Strasbourg. - Seger led the Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe in Bucharest, Romania. - Before that, Seger headed the Council of Europe’s Economic Crime Division. - That division covered cooperation programs against corruption, organized crime, cybercrime and money laundering. - From 1989 to 1998, Seger worked with what is now the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Laos, Pakistan and Afghanistan. - Seger also consulted for German Technical Cooperation on drug control matters. - Seger holds a PhD in political science, law and social anthropology. - Seger studied in Heidelberg, Bordeaux and Bonn. - APWG eCrime was founded in 2006. - The symposium has expanded from a technology-focused conference into a multidisciplinary event covering behavioral, social, economic, legal, policy and technical aspects of cybercrime and cyber-physical crime. - APWG says the conference publishes peer-reviewed research through IEEE, Taylor & Francis and the Association of Computing Machinery. - APWG describes the symposium as the only peer-reviewed research conference focused exclusively on cybercrime.

Between the lines: - Seger’s selection puts treaty-based cooperation at the center of a conference that also covers new technical threats. - The AI focus suggests APWG sees machine-driven abuse as a policy problem as much as a technical one. - The emphasis on state-sponsored cybercrime points to a broader shift from scam prevention alone toward geopolitically driven cyber risk. - APWG is positioning eCrime as both a research forum and a recruiting venue for cybercrime specialists.

What's next: - Seger will deliver his keynote during APWG eCrime 2026 in Lisbon. - He will also lead the discussion on cybercriminal states during the symposium. - APWG eCrime 2026 will continue publishing and showcasing research on counter-cybercrime techniques and technologies. - The symposium’s research program will add to the body of peer-reviewed work on cybercrime and cyber-physical crime.

The bottom line: - APWG is bringing one of Europe’s most experienced cybercrime treaty architects to frame the conversation around AI, deterrence and international cooperation.