APNIC 62 keynotes explore automation, trust, and the future of the Internet

APNIC 62 will feature two keynote speakers who approach the future of the Internet from different but complementary perspectives. One will explore how networks are becoming more automated and intelligent. The other will examine the human relationships that make global cybersecurity cooperation possible.

Together, their presentations highlight the technical and social foundations of a resilient Internet.

Amajit Gupta: Building the autonomous network

Amajit Gupta, Co-Founder, CEO, and Managing Director of Lightstorm, brings more than three decades of experience across the telecommunications and technology sectors. During his career, he has held leadership roles at organizations including Juniper Networks, Microsoft, Motorola, Alcatel Lucent, and the Tata Group. He has witnessed major shifts in digital infrastructure, from the early growth of mobile networking to the rise of cloud computing.

In his keynote, 'The autonomous grid: Driving zero-touch network operations with smart networks', Amajit will examine one of the most significant challenges facing Internet infrastructure today. Across the Asia Pacific region, rapid growth in cloud services, edge computing, and AI-driven workloads is placing unprecedented demands on networks. Managing these increasingly complex environments through traditional manual processes is becoming unsustainable.

Drawing on Lightstorm's experience developing utility-grade fibre networks, Amajit will explain how automation, software-defined infrastructure, and real-time network intelligence can transform network operations. His presentation will cover automated routing, continuous telemetry, and self-healing fibre architectures. Together, these technologies can help operators identify problems, predict outages, and optimize performance with minimal human intervention.

The session will also explore how carrier-neutral network grids could improve resilience and connectivity across South East Asia. As operators work to meet growing demand for low-latency, always-on connectivity, Amajit will present a practical vision for how zero-touch operations could reshape the Internet backbone over the next decade.

Yukako Uchida: Why trust remains essential to cybersecurity

Yukako Uchida, Manager of the Global Coordination Division at Japan Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center (JPCERT/CC) and a member of the FIRST Board of Directors, has spent much of her career strengthening collaboration among cybersecurity incident response teams worldwide. Through her work with communities such as APCERT and FIRST, she has helped build cooperation between organizations responsible for responding to cyber threats across different economies and regions.

Her keynote, 'Trust as infrastructure: The human side of cyber security', shifts the focus from technology to the people and relationships that support effective cybersecurity. While incident response relies on technical expertise and sophisticated tools, Yukako argues that successful collaboration depends on something less tangible but equally important: Trust.

Drawing on more than a decade of experience working with global Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs), she will discuss how trust develops through repeated interactions, shared experiences, and active participation in professional communities. Trusted relationships help incident responders share sensitive information quickly during cybersecurity incidents, allowing organizations to coordinate their response and reduce potential harm.

In situations where rapid decision-making is critical, these relationships often determine how effectively incidents can be managed and mitigated.

Yukako will also highlight the value of community engagement and international cooperation in building a stronger cybersecurity ecosystem. Her keynote encourages attendees to consider their own role in developing networks of trust and collaboration. It reinforces the idea that resilient cybersecurity depends not only on technology and processes, but also on the relationships between the people behind them.

Two perspectives on a stronger Internet

Although their topics differ, both keynote speakers address a common challenge - ensuring the Internet can continue to support growing demand while remaining resilient and secure.

Amajit's presentation explores how automation and intelligent infrastructure can transform network operations. Yukako's examines how trusted relationships enable effective cybersecurity cooperation.

Together, the APNIC 62 keynotes offer attendees an opportunity to consider both the technological evolution of Internet infrastructure and the human networks that help protect it. They demonstrate that resilience depends on both advanced technology and strong collaboration and provide a timely reminder that the Internet's future will rely as much on cooperation and trust as it does on innovation and automation.

More at APNIC 62

Join Internet experts and industry leaders at APNIC 62 in Mumbai, India from 4 to 10 September 2026 to build your skills, explore the latest advancements in Internet technologies, and expand your professional and personal networks. Register today.

The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.