John Sileo

John Sileo lost $300,000 & nearly went to jail due to cyber crime. Since then, he's spoken at the Pentagon, on 60 Minutes & around the world. His gift is making data security fun, so it sticks.

Expert on

  • Cyber Security
  • Risk Management
  • Safety / Security
  • Identity Theft
  • Leadership

Fee Range

$25,000–$50,000

Travels from

CO, US

Biography

John Sileo’s identity was stolen from his business and used to embezzle $300,000 from his clients. While the thief covered his crimes using Sileo’s identity, John and his business were held legally and financially responsible for the felonies committed. The breach destroyed John’s company and consumed two years of his life as he fought to stay out of jail.

In response, John made it his mission to help others protect the private data that represents their wealth. Now, one of America’s leading keynote speakers on Cyber Security, Identity Theft and Social Engineering, 

John specializes in making data security fun and engaging, so that it works. 

His most requested topics include cyber security, identity theft prevention, online privacy, social media exposure, mobile technology, Internet of Things, cyber leadership, fraud detection and social engineering. 

Weaving his story together with cutting-edge research, disarming humor and constant audience interaction, John inspires data security from the inside out – from the individual to the workplace. Information is everyone’s most profitable and productive asset – but it is human beings who defend it. 

John is the award-winning author of many books, including Your Data is Showing and Privacy Means Profit (Wiley), and has appeared on 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper and Fox Business. His satisfied clients include the Pentagon, Visa, Blue Cross Blue Shield, UMass, FDIC, Pfizer, Federal Trade Commission, Northrop Grumman, European Information Security Summit, Lincoln Financial, Department of Homeland Security, AARP, Prudential, Federal Reserve Bank, and scores of organizations, universities, and associations of all sizes.

John is CEO of The Sileo Group, a privacy think tank that helps organizations protect the privacy that drives their profits. He graduated from Harvard University with honors and spends his free time snowshoeing the Rocky Mountains with his remarkable wife and two highly spirited daughters.

Speaker Videos

SAVVY CYBERSECURITY IN A WORLD OF WEAPONIZED A.I.

Artificial Intelligence makes hacking your organization easier. Generative A.I. models evolved from ChatGPT give novice cybercriminals free tools to code malware, create adaptive ransomware, and author sophisticated phishing emails around the clock. Deepfake videos imitate people in power to manipulate your performance, profits and reputation while disinformation campaigns blur the lines of trust. And quantum computing is about to render current defenses nearly useless. Are you prepared? While technology is also part of the solution, it is not the primary answer to the quiz. In this keynote, cyber expert John Sileo leverages his experience of losing everything to cybercrime to bridge the security gap between human beings, technology and rapidly emerging threats.

BLOCKBUSTER CYBERSECURITY IN A ZERO-TRUST WORLD

Hackers don’t just adapt to change; they bank on it. Has your mindset evolved? The rapid expansion of remote workforces, ransomware gangs, cloud jacking, IoT hacking, supply chain attacks, social engineering and disinformation campaigns have altered the way we must defend our data, reputation, and profits. Cybersecurity doesn’t grow from shinier tools, but from the powerful intersection between humans and technology. In this keynote, John leverages potent lessons learned from losing everything to cybercrime and decades of real-world experience to build a Blockbuster Framework for analyzing, organizing, and communicating your powerful cyber defense strategy.

THE ART OF HUMAN HACKING: SOCIAL ENGINEERING SELF DEFENSE

Anti-fraud and social engineering training only work when your people experience it in person. Human beings can be the weakest link or the strongest competitive advantage in the security and profitability of your information assets. But people are the most commonly underutilized, least expensive weapon in your fight against cybercrime. Social Engineering Training too often fails because of Death by PowerPoint. Fraud training needs to be engaging and interactive to be effective. To put it simply, this session makes security fun, so that it sticks. In this continually-interactive session, John goes deep into social engineering tools and tricks used to separate you from your critical data. By building System-1, Reflex-Based Awareness around how tools like social media, trust shortcuts, ego stroking, greed appeals, and cortisol flushing enable social engineers, John will dramatically reduce the human element of your threat footprint. By the time John finishes his entertaining closing story, your audience will be fully empowered to detect and deter social engineering, fraud and deception.

BUILDING A BULLETPROOF CULTURE OF SECURITY: A CRASH COURSE FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

To avoid becoming the next disastrous data-breach headline, you must foster a culture of security that addresses both the technological and human elements of data defense. Change happens when you create buy-in among the people who handle your mission-critical information. You can’t possibly do everything, so you must do the right things. This crash course forges a high-level, non-technical path through cybersecurity. It is a highly interactive presentation that leverages John’s first-hand experience of losing everything to cybercrime, continues with a live hacking demo of an audience member’s smartphone and ends with a Blockbuster Framework of Leadership Next Steps.