Opening Keynote
Ivan Krstić
Hexacon 2025 · Day 1 · Main Stage
In this Hexacon keynote, Ivan Krstić, Head of Security Engineering and Architecture at Apple, presented a compelling vision for the future of security, arguing that the field is experiencing an unprecedented velocity of progress driven by a more scientific approach integrated with robust engineering. Krstić emphasized that at the leading edge, security is already remarkably strong, a testament to the maturation of both security science, which defines rigorous models and verifies correctness, and security engineering, which constructs secure systems under severe real-world constraints. A central theme was the pivotal role of deeply integrating offensive research into the defense engineering loop, catalyzed by advanced tooling.
AI review
Ivan Krstić delivers a technically dense keynote that earns its runtime through three substantive case studies — formal verification of post-quantum crypto in Core Crypto, the SPTM architectural redesign, and the Memory Integrity Engine. This isn't a vendor marketing exercise disguised as research; it's a principal architect walking through real architectural decisions, real failure modes from prior systems, and real offensive evaluation results. The MIE section in particular is the kind of content that makes a conference worth attending — a five-year engineering effort to fundamentally…