Fernando Montenegro

Vice President & Practice Lead, Cybersecurity

Fernando Montenegro serves as the Vice President & Practice Lead for Cybersecurity at The Futurum Group. In this role, he leads the development and execution of the Cybersecurity research agenda, working closely with the team to drive the practice’s growth. His research focuses on addressing critical topics in modern cybersecurity. These include the multifaceted role of AI in cybersecurity, strategies for managing an ever-expanding attack surface, and the evolution of cybersecurity architectures toward more platform-oriented solutions.

Before joining The Futurum Group, Fernando held senior industry analyst roles at Omdia, S&P Global, and 451 Research. His career also includes diverse roles in customer support, security, IT operations, professional services, and sales engineering. He has worked with pioneering Internet Service Providers, established security vendors, and startups across North and South America.

Fernando holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and various industry certifications. Although he is originally from Brazil, he has been based in Toronto, Canada, for many years.

Recent Insights, NEWS & RESEARCH:

Top 10 Finalists for RSAC 2025 Spotlight AI Security, Data Protection, and Attack Surface Management
Fernando Montenegro, VP and Practice Lead, Cybersecurity at The Futurum Group, shares insights on the 2025 RSAC Innovation Sandbox finalists. AI security, data protection, and attack surface management dominate this year’s themes amid rising enterprise demand.
As It Reaches Customers With More Distributed Events, Palo Alto Networks Articulates Its Vision of AI and Security Platforms
Fernando Montenegro, VP and Practice Lead at The Futurum Group, shares insights on Palo Alto Networks' AI-powered "platformization" strategy showcased at Ignite OnTour NYC. Their integrated security approach aims to simplify threat detection for enterprises.
Fernando Montenegro, VP and Practice Lead at The Futurum Group, shares his insights on securing agentic AI across multiple layers, from baseline security controls to specialized protections for autonomous systems.
Fernando Montenegro and Krista Case of The Futurum Group share insights from their upcoming Cybersecurity market forecast and cybersecurity decision-maker study.
The Proposed All-Cash Blockbuster Deal Has Ramifications Across Cloud Security, Security Operations, and More
The Futurum Group analysts Fernando Montenegro, Krista Case, Mitch Ashley, and Alex Smith share their insights on the blockbuster deal announced by Alphabet that it intends to acquire Wiz to improve multi-cloud security capabilities of Google Cloud.
As Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Vendors Look To Differentiate, We See a Rise in More Specialized Deployments. Along These Lines, Palo Alto Networks Introduces Prisma SASE 5G, Leveraging Now Ubiquitous AI-Enabled and Zero Trust Concepts Alongside SIM-Based Authentication to Potentially Secure Enterprise 5G Connectivity
Fernando Montenegro, VP and Practice Lead, Cybersecurity at The Futurum Group, examines how Palo Alto Networks' Prisma SASE 5G enhances enterprise 5G security with AI-driven Zero Trust and SIM-based authentication.