Eugene Kaspersky keynote speaker

Eugene Kaspersky’s love for mathematics determined his “technical” future. One of his hobbies during high school was to solve problems published in mathematical journals.

During his last few years in high school, he attended extracurricular classes in physics and mathematics at a dedicated program organized by the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Eugene spent his last two years of high school taking physics and mathematics courses in a specialized program for gifted students organized by and affiliated with Moscow State University. In 1987, Eugene graduated from the Institute of Cryptography, Telecommunications and Computer Science, where he studied mathematics, cryptography and computer technology, majoring in mathematical engineering. After graduating, Eugene worked at a multi-disciplinary research institute. It was there that Eugene first began studying computer viruses after detecting the Cascade virus on his computer in October 1989. Eugene analyzed the virus and developed a disinfection utility for it – the first such utility he developed. He started collecting malicious programs and disinfection modules for them.

This exotic collection later formed the foundation of the famous antivirus database in Kaspersky Anti-Virus. Today, this database includes more than 4 million records and is one of the most complete antivirus databases in the world. In 1991, Eugene joined the KAMI Information Technologies Center, where he and a group of colleagues developed the AVP antivirus project, which became the prototype for Kaspersky Anti-Virus. International recognition of the project arrived in 1994, when the virtually unknown AVP won a contest conducted by Hamburg University’s test lab, demonstrating a higher virus detection rate than the most popular antivirus programs at the time.

In 1997, Eugene and his colleagues decided to establish an independent company, becoming the founders of Kaspersky Lab. From that moment, he has headed the company's antivirus research.

In 2007, Eugene was named CEO of Kaspersky Lab.

Eugene was voted the World’s Most Powerful Security Exec by SYS-CON Media in 2011, awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Plymouth University in 2012, and named one of Foreign Policy Magazine’s 2012 Top Global Thinkers for his contribution to IT security awareness on a global scale.