2024 Competition Booklet

A Proud CyberFirst Partner

The team responsible for delivering the UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge are delighted to be recognised as the first non-government funded initiative to be accepted under the NCSC’s CyberFirst programme. We are proud of this honour and seek to support the CyberFirst’s aims as best we can.

The CyberFirst programme is the UK Government’s recognised brand for Cyber Security education, training and development Workingin partnership with Government, Academia and wider sectors of Industry, CyberFirsthas created acyber-ecosystem that nurtures and develops talented individualsas well asproviding pathwaysinto cyber security careers. This is exactly what we are doing and aim to achieve with the UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge.

Through the provision of the necessary skills, knowledgeand opportunities, CyberFirstis inspiring a diverse future generation of cyber security professionals to keep the UK the safest place to live and work online. We are proud to play our part in helping the NCSC achieve this aim as we look to develop the next generation of cyber security leaders.

We look forward to continuing to strengthen our role as part of the CyberFirst community and are delighted to be supported by the NCSC and our other government champions.

The team in the UK are also grateful to the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative for granting us a license to use the Atlantic Council and the Cyber 9/12 trademark logos in support of this initiative

About the Atlantic Council

The Atlantic Council is a think tank in Washington, DC, that promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the Atlantic Community's central role in meeting global challenges.

www.atlanticcouncil.org

About the Digital Forensics Research Lab

The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab promotes transparency and accountability through opensource research and reporting, and aligns stakeholders toward rights-enforcing policy change in government, industry, media, and civil society.

www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/digital-forensic-research-lab LONDON,UK

Welcome to the 2024 UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge!

Robert Black

@RobBlackUk

Robert Black

Director - UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Welcome to the 2024 iteration of the UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge and I am delighted to welcome you to this year’s competition whether you are going to be joining us online or in person. This is my fourth year as Director and it is our 7th year delivering the UK Finals, here at the wonderfully magnificent BT Tower .

The team have been working really hard this year to bring you the best UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge yet and we hope that you enjoy the benefit from all the different activities and events we have scheduled alongside the competition itself.

The UK Cyber 9/12 event is all about giving you a safe environment in which to practice your human-centric skills, such as effective briefing, team building and critical analysis and experience what it is like to deal with a complex and challenging cyber crisis Alongside the competition, we have arranged mentoring sessions, workshops and a series of panel discussions and some amazing keynote speeches I hope that you get as much value out of these activities, where you can meet some fascinating people, leaders in industry and government and learn more about what it is like working in cyber and the type of roles available.

The team have been working on the scenario for well over 6 months and, to be honest, I am looking forward to seeing how you all deal with the challenge presented All of the people we have got into to review the scenario have found it particularly realistic and more than a little challenging So good luck teams and I look forward to seeing your briefings

This year we are even more grateful to our sponsors, partners, and government champions – all of whom have helped us create the event. It would not be possible without BT, our strategic partners, BAE Systems our Platinum sponsors, Beazley our Gold sponsors, Rapid 7, the Financial Conduct Authority and Adarma Security as our Silver Sponsors and 6 Point 6, the LEGO Group and Element as our corporate sponsors They are all keen to meet with our student competitors and help you explore opportunities and career options with them We have also had great support from our partners and champions across government this year helping us spread the word and get more people engaged, especially from the NCSC now that we are part of the CyberFirst programme. Thankyou to everyone who has helped us make this event a reality.

Last, the team here have been fantastic All volunteers doing this because they benefitted from it themselves or can see the benefit of this initiative Do please take a moment to thank them when you can

The next two days are here for your benefit, please do enjoy them, put in as much effort as you can do and meet as many people whether you are online or in person. Chat and learn from everyone, participate fully and enjoy the competition.

All that is left for me to say is welcome to the 2024 Finals of the UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge and best of luck!

Robert Black

Director – UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Welcome from BAE Systems

Mary Haigh

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

During a large scale cyber attack, when there is a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty in a rapidly changing environment, good communication skills matter more than anything else. You must be able to present clear information to senior stakeholders; explain the current situation, articulate scenarios that might play out and give them options for good decision making This competition is exciting because of how realistic it is You are handling a high-stakes scenario that impacts society as a whole and you must brief senior civil servants.

Congratulations on reaching the final, it’s a huge achievement. Remember to keep an eye on the BAE Systems job pages, if you've enjoyed this competition you'd really enjoy a job at BAE Systems. You’re the next generation coming through into cyber security and are an inspiration to others

Good luck!

Accessibility

Things we’re doing to make sure the competition is accessible for all:

Here, at the UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge, we are driven by ensuring fair access to all no matter their background Over the last few years, in consultation with our partners, subject matter experts and in listening to our participants we have made the following enhancements:

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Hosted keynotes & panel discussion on building an inclusive profession & supporting neurodiversity in the cyber workforce

Asked students if they have any individual requirements to support them to get the most out of the competition.

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Enforced a policy of no observers for the Qualifying & Semi-Final rounds.

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4. Conducted a thorough Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) review of the Intelligence Reports to add accessibility features.

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All Qualifying Rounds are standardised to ensure fairness in scoring. Each Qualifying Round and Semi-Final Round utilises a similar room setup so no student teams face the spotlights of the main stage during the initial rounds

Asked Coaches to attend Finals Event to provide support to student teams.

Liaised with representative organisations of the neurodiverse community to help design an accessible Finals Event

Provided stress balls, courtesy of Adarma, as part of student competitor welcome packs as a relaxation aide.

Provided a quiet area for students to have an opportunity to reset & recharge.

Provided those attending the BT Tower with an outline of the rooms & meeting spaces so that they already have a degree of familiarity with the venue before arrival

Provided lanyards for all those attending the BT Tower so that name badges do not need to be pinned to chest.

Provided different colour lanyards to allow people to more easily identify the different categories of people attending the BT Tower.

Provided electronic copies of the documentation during all stages of the competition

Partnered with organisations to promote the value of this competition to minority groups to encourage participation and engagement.

Worked with Sponsors and the NCSC to create a Supporting Access Fund so that no student competitor is unable to participate due to the cost of attending the Finals Event in London

Should there be something you would like our support to ensure that you are able to fully benefit from the UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge then please reach out to us on info@ukcyber912.co.uk and we will endeavour to come up with a suitable solution.

Competition Schedule

Tuesday, 20 February 2024

08:00 - 08:45: Breakfast & Registration

08:45 - 09:35: Welcoming Remarks

Robert Black | UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Nick Yap | Atlantic Council

Lee Stephens | BT

Dr. Mary Haigh | BAE Systems

Cian Galvin | DSIT

09:35 - 09:55: Judges’ & Teams’ Briefing

10:00 - 12:15: Morning Competition Rounds

10:10 - 10:40: Workshop 1 | BAE Systems

10:30 - 15:45: Careers Fair

11:00 - 11:30: Workshop 2 | Beazley

11:00 - 11:30: Virtual Workshop 1 | Beazley

12:15 - 13:00: Lunch

13:00 - 13:30: Keynote Address

Bella Powell | UK Cabinet Office

Dr. Mary Haigh | BAE Systems

13:30 - 14:00: Workshop 3 | BAE Systems

13:30 - 15:05: Afternoon Competition Rounds

15:00 - 15:30: Workshop 4 | Beazley

15:00 - 15:30: Virtual Workshop 2 | Beazley

15:45 - 16:00: Semi-Finalist Announcement

16:00 - 16:15: Closing Keynote

Shehzad Charania | GCHQ

16:15 - 18:00: Networking Reception

18:00: Release of Intelligence Report II

18:30: VIP Dinner at Lancaster House

Competition Schedule

Wednesday 21 February 2024

08:00 - 08:45: Breakfast

08:45 - 09:05: Welcoming Remarks

Rob Black | UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Raf Sanchez | Beazley

09:05 - 09:45: Careers Panel: Tips from the Top

Purvi Kay | BAE Systems Raf Sanchez | Beazley

Michelle Deady | BT Steve Hill | UBS

09:45 - 10:00: Judges' & Teams' Briefing

10:05 - 10:45: Semi-Final Round 1

10:45 - 11:00: Keynote Address

Chris Ensor | NCSC

11:00 - 11:40: Semi-Final Round 2

11:10 - 11:40: Workshop 5 | BAE Systems

11:40 - 12:20: Early Careers Panel

Chris Ensor | NCSC Harriet Rogers | BAE Systems

Esther Sule | 6Point6 Laura Price | BT

Annabelle Gouache | DSIT

12:20: - 13:00: Lunch

13:00 - 13:10: Finalist Announcement

13:10 - 13:50: Keynote Address

Paul Chichester | NCSC

Pete Cooper | UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Jen Ellis

13:50 - 16:05: Final Round

16:15- 16:30: Awards Ceremony

16:30- 16:45: Closing Keynote

Ali Dyer | ASOS

16:45: Networking Drinks & Program Close

Keynote Addresses

Tuesday 20 February

8:45 - 9:35 | Opening Remarks

Welcoming Remarks

Robert Black | Director UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Nick Yap | the Atlantic Council

Lee Stephens | BT

Dr. Mary Haigh | BAE Systems

Cian Galvin | DSIT

13:00 - 13:30: Bella Powell, Director Cyber, GSG, UK Cabinet Office and Dr Mary Haigh, CISO, BAE Systems | Keynote Address

16:00 - 16:15: Shehzad Charania MBE, Director Legal Affairs & International Relations, GCHQ | Closing Keynote

Wednesday 21 February

08:45 – 09:05: Raf Sanchez, Global Head of Cyber Services, Beazley | Opening Remarks and Keynote

09:05 – 09:45: Tips from the Top, with Purvi Kay (BAE), Steve Hill (Credit Suisse), Michelle Deady (BT), Raf Sanchez (Beazley)

10:45 - 11:00: Chris Ensor, Director Cyber Growth, NCSC | Keynote Address

11:40 - 12:20: Careers Panel, with Chris Ensor (NCSC) Harriet Rogers, (BAE), Esther Sule, (6Point6), Michelle Deady (BT), Annabelle Gouache (DSIT)

13:10 - 13:50: A Conversation on Election Security with Paul Chichester (NCSC), Pete Cooper (the Atlantic Council) moderated by Jen Ellis (Cabinet Office’s Government Cyber Advisory Board & DSIT Expert Advisory Group) | Keynote Session

16:30 - 16:45: Ali Dyer, CISO, ASOS | Closing Keynote

Workshops & Activities

Tuesday 20 February

10:00 - 16:00: BT’s VR experience

10:00 - 16:00: BT’s Lock Picking Activity

10:10 - 10:40: Crisis Management in the Private Sector with Rob Flanders of BAE Systems

11:00 - 11:30: A Day in the life of a Cyber Underwriter with Scott Melville, Dominic King and Niall McKenzie of Beazley

11:00 - 11:30: Dive into a day in the life of the Head of the Cyber Services with Christian Taube of Beazley | Virtual Workshop

13:30 - 14:00: Crisis Management in the Private Sector with Rob Flanders of BAE Systems

15:00 - 15:30: A Day in the life of a Cyber Underwriter with Scott Melville, Dominic King and Niall McKenzie of Beazley

15:00 - 15:30: Dive into a day in the life of the Head of the Cyber Services with Christian Taube of Beazley | Virtual Workshop

Wednesday 21 February

11:10 - 11:40: Crisis Management in the Private Sector with Rob Flanders of BAE Systems

10:00 - 14:00: BT’s VR experience

11:00 - 14:00: BT’s Lock Picking Activity

Workshops & Activities

Crisis Management in the Private Sector

Rob Flanders (BAE Systems)

Managing Major Cyber Incidents. Rob is the Head of Incident Response at BAE Systems and will deliver a workshop on lessons learnt from major cyber incident management over the last 2 years Rob will also reflect on table top exercises with the BAE Systems Executive Committee – and what happens when best practice in cyber security meets the reality of a FTSE 20 business.

A Day in the life of a Cyber Underwriter

Scott Melville, Dominic King and Niall McKenzie (Beazley)

Dive into a day in the life of a Cyber Underwriter, analysing cyber controls and risk factors for some of the world’s largest corporations. Get a high-level overview of how to underwrite and what considerations need to be made to insure companies in industries such as: Government, Retail, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Power & Utilities and more.

Dive into a day in the life of the Head of the Cyber Services

Christian Taube | Vitual Workshop (Beazley)

Dive into a day in the life of the Head of the Cyber Services – International Team at Beazley, supporting some some of the world’s largest corporations to be best prepared to deal with a cyber incident and plan for when such an incident occurs. Get a high-level overview of how considerations are made as to how to insure companies in industries such as: Government, Retail, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Power & Utilities and more, and also what happens when these large companies reach out and say ‘we think we have been hacked… Please help!”

Workshops & Activities

BT’s Lock Picking Activity

Interested in learning some basic offensive physical security skills? Members of BT’s Offensive Security Team will be waiting on T34, to give an overview of their work, teach some basic lock functionality and explain some of the tricks and tips we use at work. We challenge you to have a go at opening some locks yourselves! Come say hello and join in the fun

BT’s VR experience

Abi from BT’s Research team has a couple of virtual reality concept applications for you to try on T34 that show two very different areas of our work. Our Human Firewall has been developed to aid employee training and models a BT office where you can explore and identify potential security threats. Our VSOC experience models a security operations centre allowing you to work from around the globe and collaborate in real time in the same virtual space.

Did you know…

Students can sign up to receive a free ISACA membership?

ISACA is dedicated to support students pursuing education in information security, cybersecurity, IS audit, risk management, governance, compliance, or data privacy and providing free membership benefits to them. Interested students can contact ISACA London Chapter - Academic Relations DirectorVivek Jain (vjain@isaca-london.org) for free student membership.

Competing Teams - In-Person

Crisis Hive

TorToises

Imsiss12345!?

Security Sisters

CyberSafe Alliance

Snuggl3 Bear

CY-OP

Hack To The Future

4CyFi

Meta-SEC

Red Lions

Steapp Squad

CTRL+ALT+ELITE

CyberXX

Pwn Stars

University of Portsmouth

University of Portsmouth

University of Glasgow

University of Nottingham

University of East Anglia (UEA)

University College London

University College London

University of Warwick

University College London

University of Portsmouth

King’s College London

University College London

University of Manchester

King’s College London

Loughborough University, University of Warwick

& University of Bristol

Cyboro

Hive Firewall

Loughborough University

University of Manchester

Competing Teams - Virtual Track

Hacktresses

Port Sec

Purple Bee Sentinels

The XORcists Nocturnal

Coventry University , Aston University, University of Portsmouth

University of Portsmouth

University of Manchester

University of Leeds, University of Warwick,

University of York, University of Southampton

Royal Holloway University of London, University of Warwick, University of Southampton,

University of Newcastle

United for Cyber Peace

Team Resilience

The Guardians of the Cyberspace

Imperial Cyber Knights

405 Found Team

Team Hornet

S U N

NovaCryptics

Eternal Blue Team

The Phishermen

Cybersauri

Ecliptic-Torpedo

Hack The Planet

University of Oxford

University of Oxford

University of Glasgow

Imperial College London

University of Manchester

University of Manchester

University College London

University of Kent

University of East Anglia

University of Oxford

University of Warwick

University of Warwick

University of Edinburgh, Open University, Durham University

Warwick CyberKnights

University of Warwick

Prizes & Awards

1st Place

A visit to NCSC HQ and 3 x online mentoring sessions (travel included)-

Courtesy of NCSC

Each winner receives an Apple iPad or equivalent - Courtesy of Rapid7

Chance to watch the Boston Celtics play from Rapid7 suite at TD Gardens (travel/accommodation not included) - Courtesy of Rapid7

LEGO Builder Figure Set - Courtesy of the Lego Group

4 x Complementary Weekend Tickets to the El Dorado Festival - Courtesy of AEI

2nd Place

2 day experiential visit to Beazley to meet and learn from their London Cyber Services Team including a tour of Lloyds, dinner & drinks with the Cyber Team (travel and accommodation included) - Courtesy of Beazley

3 x 45 minute Individual Career Mentoring Sessions - Courtesy of BAE Systems

Black Hat and the Atlantic Council are delighted to partner to offer complimentary passes to the second place team to attend Black Hat Europe on December 9-12, 2024 - Courtesy of the A l i C il

3rd Place

1 day visit to the FCA to meet the FCA team (travel and accommodation included) - Courtesy of the FCA

Lego BT Phone box Set - Courtesy of BT

3 x 45 minute mentoring sessions - Courtesy of 6Point6

Virtual Track Prizes

Winners of the virtual competition will have the opportunity to visit a BT Security office and meet some of the team - Courtesy of BT

Prizes & Awards

Most Engaged Award

The opportunity to submit an article/blog to Forensic Focus, the web's leading destination for digital forensics experts and practitioners

- Courtesy of Forensic Focus

Prizes may also be awarded for the following categories:

Best Teamwork, Best Oral Briefing, Best Decision Document

CompTIA Cloud Essentials study e-books and exam vouchers, to support your journey into the cybersecurity field - Courtesy of Seidea

12-months free user licences for SudoCyber’s online gamified cyberlearning platform - Courtesy of UKC3 and SudoCyber

In-Person Finalists & Winning Virtual Team will also receive:

A site visit to DWP Security Team to gain insights into the work being done inside government to secure DWP from Cyber attacks - Courtesy of the Department for Work and Pensions

Tickets to CRESTCon UK - Courtesy of Crest

Event Sponsors

Strategic Partner

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products and solutions, serving customers across 180 countries The global reach and breadth of BT ’s network gives a ringside view of the cyber security landscape, allowing it to contextualise real-time events with external intelligence to distinguish patterns and indicators of new cyber-attacks. We also work closely with organisations such as the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), National Crime Agency (NCA), Interpol and Europol, to disrupt cyber attacks and cyber crime

Our network is relied upon by government, the NHS, armed forces, emergency services, air traffic control and banks. BT’s security team is one of the fastest-growing parts of the business, with customers looking for a trusted partner who can help them adopt a proactive approach to security and securely transform their business with new digital technologies.

Cyber 9/12 UK aligns with our strategy to build a diverse team of cyber security professionals who are constantly observing, learning, predicting and responding to threats to protect its networks and customers.

Event Sponsors

Platinum Sponsor

Event Sponsors

Gold Sponsor

All the good things in life come with a little risk. We should know.

Back in 1986 when we began, the US liability insurance market was in crisis Things weren't looking good. Not the best time to start a business, you might think. But at Beazley we see every risk as an opportunity to do things differently

So we took the plunge and started our business, with just a couple of second-hand desks and a handsome old hat stand

Insurance is about risk, but it’s also about people We searched for the Industry's brightest sparks to join us. A diverse bunch, all looking for that rare thing in insurance: an adventure. We certainly found one

We began putting our heads together to tackle our clients’ biggest challenges. And in a world fast becoming head-scratchingly complex, we set ourselves the goal to become the Industry's go to problem solvers. We've done things differently ever since. In an age of easy assumptions and talking big, we keep an open mind and listen more

Persevering until we've found the right solution. Our quiet and boundless curiosity have seen us embrace all manner of risks: Boldly going further, from the bottom of the ocean to the surface of the moon.

So that’s our story, in a nutshell. The moral of the tale? Life’s a risky business. But by enabling our clients to explore, create and build a different world, we’re helping to make it a better one And by striving to do the right thing rather than the easy thing, we’re shaping a brighter future for our people, our partners and the planet.

We definitely think that’s a risk worth taking.

Insurance Just different

Event Sponsors

Silver Sponsor

Rapid7 is creating a more secure digital future by helping organisations strengthen their security programs Our portfolio of best-in-class solutions empowers security professionals to manage risk and eliminate threats across the entire threat landscape. We foster open source communities and cutting-edge research–using these insights to optimize our products and arm the security community with the latest in attacker methodology More than 10,000 customers worldwide trust our industry-leading solutions and services to stay ahead of attackers and ready for what’s next

Event Sponsors

Silver Sponsor

We are Adarma, independent leaders in detection and response services. We specialise in designing, building and managing cybersecurity operations that deliver a measurable reduction in business risk. We are on a mission to make cyber resilience a reality for organisations around the world

Our team of passionate cyber defenders work hand in hand with you to mitigate risk and maximise the value of your cybersecurity investments Powered by the Adarma Threat Management Platform and optimised to your individual needs, we deliver an integrated set of services that improve your security posture, including best-in-class Managed Detection and Response.

We operate with transparency and visibility across today’s hybrid-SOC environments to protect your business as you transform, innovate and grow. Adarma delivers the cybersecurity outcomes you need to make a remarkable difference

Event Sponsors

Silver Sponsor

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, operating independently of the UK government, and financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financial firms providing services to consumers and maintains the integrity of the UK’s financial markets It focuses on the regulation of conduct by all authorised retail and wholesale financial services firms as well as being the largest prudential regulator in the UK. Like its predecessor the FSA, the FCA is structured as a company limited by guarantee

There are few jobs where you can make a real difference to the 2 million people who work in the UK Financial Services industry, the 40m consumers of financial products and the stability of the UK economy. The FCA’s people are integral to its success as an organisation, working alongside the Financial Services industry, visiting firms and speaking to consumers every day as they strive to ensure the FCA is setting the standard for other regulatory bodies across the world

From regulating Consumer Credit to driving action on foreign exchange manipulation or helping strengthen accountability in the banking sector, the FCA works with the industry to protect consumers, ensure the integrity of the UK financial system and promote fair and effective competition

Its remit has expanded significantly since its creation in 2013, with the number of firms regulated growing from 23,000 to over 56,000 The FCA oversees conduct across the full span of the financial sector from global investment banks to high street payday lenders and is now implementing a new strategy that will sharpen its focus to face the regulatory challenges ahead.

Event Sponsors

Corporate Sponsors

Founded in 2012, 6point6 drive the right change in an organisation through the positive impact of technology. Leading with strategy, design and architecture, we connect cloud, data, and cyber to engineer and deliver large-scale, complex transformations across public and private sectors.

With a team of approximately 400 and offices in London and Manchester, you will not only take your career to the next level, you also become part of an amazing team and drive us towards a greater future

The LEGO Group’s mission is to inspire the builders of tomorrow, which includes helping kids and adults stay safe and secure in an increasingly digital world Whether it’s through the digital experiences we build for kids, resources for parents, or the tools and training we give our colleagues, we’re working to build cybersecurity skills and understanding

The Element Materials Technology Group is one of the world’s leading global providers of testing, inspection, and certification services for a diverse range of products, materials, and technologies in advanced industrial supply chains where failure in use is not an option

Headquartered in London, UK, Element’s c.9,000 scientists, engineers, and technologists, work across a global network of over 270+ locations, support customers from early R&D, through complex regulatory approvals, and into production ensuring their products are safe and sustainable, and achieve market access. In 2021, Element set out its new, industry leading environmental commitments, adopting science-based targets and committing to net zero emissions across its entire global business by 2035. These environmental commitments follow Element’s achievement of the highest ESG ranking in the testing, inspection and certification industry from Sustainalytics, a global leader in ESG research and data

Event Partners

The Security Awareness Special Interest Group (SASIG) is a subscription-free networking forum for the cybersecurity industry Its mission is to improve trust and confidence in the online environment through our regular masterclasses and networking sessions, based on today’s hot topics. SASIG’s 9,000+ members represent over 4,000 organisations from across the UK and around the world They are made up of CIOs, CISOs and their staff with responsibility for cybersecurity within their organisations. Professionals from other disciplines (risk, HR, legal, supply, etc) and representatives from government, law enforcement and academia are also being increasingly welcomed. Founded in 2004, SASIG has established itself as the leading voice in the great cybersecurity debate. Many regard SASIG events as a CISO safe-zone, thus the level of discussion is extraordinarily revealing and rewarding Internet security is one of the most significant challenges in our connected world. A trustworthy Internet is a shared, universal challenge that reaches beyond borders and connects us all At GCA we foster cooperation across industries and governments. We build programs, partnerships, and tools to make the connected world safer and more secure for all. From analyzing attacks on IoT devices, to providing free tools and resources to help reduce cyber risk and improve email security, our programs are central to making the Internet safer GCA is a 501(c)(3) in the U S and a nonprofit in the U K and Belgium

CyberWomen Groups C I C aims to create and uphold an inclusive community within cyber security. Our mission is to create a community that inspires learning, networking, and positive change CyberWomen Groups is made up of student led branches in universities across the UK. Each branch has its own unique goals and ambitions that they strive to achieve throughout the academic year Each branch then comes together to support each other and empower women in this field. We run events and workshops throughout the year for anyone to attend and join us in creating a community that anyone can feel a part of.

Forensic Focus – the leading online digital forensics resource for DFIR and eDiscovery professionals

Event Partners

Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) UK and Ireland Affiliate is a community for women, non-binary persons and allies As an affiliate of WiCyS Global (wicys.org) we aim to help build a strong gender-diverse cybersecurity workforce by facilitating the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in the field. WiCyS UKI focuses on initiatives such as outreach, awareness, networking, sharing and engagement opportunities in the United Kingdom & Ireland

CREST is an international not-for-profit accreditation and certification body that represents the global cyber security industry, working with governments, regulators, academia, training providers, professional bodies and other stakeholders to build and raise standards in the industry. CREST offers internationally recognised accreditation for organisations and professional certification for individuals providing vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, incident response, threat intelligence and SOC services. CREST provides assurance on the quality of service delivered by its members and qualified individuals

RANT was originally set up by senior end-users, researchers and influencers in cybersecurity wanting to debate specific topics in a transparent, open way. Community dictated topics were discussed at events so end-users could learn from each other’s experiences, stories and ideas. In the 20 years since, we have gained thousands of members and hosted hundreds of real and digital events featuring countless opinions We have helped everyone from The Government to global vendors and industry organisations tap this collective insight. Nowadays, in a saturated sector, we provide a rare place for pragmatic people to cut through the noise and learn from their peers. All our members share one trait: the desire to understand and shape cybersecurity for the better, as do we

NeuroCyber is a network of passionate industry volunteers led by a Board who are, or have connections to, brilliant neurodivergent people We are driven to improve career outcomes for neurodivergent colleagues, to enrich the sector and thereby positively impact the cyber skills gap in the UK

Event Partners

ISACA London Chapter, one of the largest in the world, has over 4,000 members who come from a wide cross-section of business including the accountancy and information systems professions, central and local government, the banking, manufacturing and service sectors and academia

ISACA is the voice of the Information Systems Audit, IT Governance, Risk Management and Cyber Security professions. For over 50 years, ISACA has helped enterprises develop strong IT workforces by inspiring and equipping individuals to be more capable, valuable and successful in the fast-changing world of Information Technology and Business By offering industry-leading knowledge, standards, credentialing and education, ISACA enables professionals to apply technology in ways that instil confidence, address threats, drive innovation and create positive momentum for their organizations

Remap Mental Fitness are start-up with aiming to make mental fitness as common as physical fitness They teach teams & individuals how to think, feel & perform like the top 1% through the technique of visualisation; weight training for you mind Remap lead with experience - delivering workshops for teams & running immersive events for consumers. They have worked with the likes Nike, Asics & Barclays Eagle Labs alongside delivering monthly events at The Ministry, London. In you welcome pack and the quiet space at the BT Tower, you will find a QR code giving your free access to two of Remap’s guided visualisation recordings to help you reset & recharge during the Finals Event

Seidea is a pioneering career development platform committed to diversifying the cybersecurity industry. Our mission is to empower over 100,000 Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women worldwide to enter the field of cybersecurity by 2040 As of 2024, we have grown our membership to over 8,000 BAME women, offering an expanded range of services including advanced career bootcamps, certification courses, and vibrant community engagement initiatives. In partnership with industry giants such as Sage, KPMG, Cylon, and Google, Seidea is making significant strides in redefining the talent pipeline. Our mission is to connect qualified and trained diverse talent with inclusive employers in the cybersecurity field

Keynote Speakers

Cian Galvin

Deputy Director for Cyber Innovation and Skills, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

Cian Galvin is the acting Deputy Director for Cyber Innovation and Skills in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). This includes responsibilities for the department’s work to enthuse young people about a career in cyber, support interested career changers, and professionalise the cyber workforce. Previously, Cian was responsible for IoT Product Security, which included the delivery of the Product Security Act (2022), that will make consumer IoT products more secure by design.

Nicolas Yap

Director of Strategy and Operations, Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab)

Nicholas Yap is the Director of Strategy and Operations for the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) Based in London, he runs DFRLab’s global operations and development activities As a founding member, Nicholas has managed the rapid growth of the lab from a team of two in 2016 to its current presence of fifty staff across sixteen countries He is a graduate of Colgate University with a BA in International Relations and a minor in German.

Mary Haigh

Chief Information Security Officer, BAE Systems

Mary is the CISO for BAE Systems plc. She is a member of the executive committee for the Defence Cyber Protection Partnership and is a speaker at events around the world, particularly in the area of Responsible Cyber Power She is also a strong advocate for diversity in cyber security founding R.I.S.E, the women in cyber security cross industry mentoring scheme

Since joining BAE Systems in 2015 she has held a number of roles including Director of Cyber for BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, responsible for d er vision and strategy, as well as the roadmap and go to market strategy for the cyber products and services

Previously, Mary led the Technical Roadmap for the Cyber Security Division in QinetiQ having had various roles since 2001, including heading up the Cyber Security Services business group and the Cross Domain Products business group.

Mary has worked in the cyber security domain since 2009, prior to that working in semiconductors research and then specialising in Intellectual Property management. Her PhD was in semiconductor physics.

Keynote Speakers

Bella Powell

Director Cyber, GSG, UK Cabinet Office

Bella Powell is the Cyber Director within the Government Security Group, and is responsible for delivering the Government Cyber Security Strategy. She joined the Cabinet Office in September 2022 following her role as Senior Security Advisor at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs where she established the organisation's central security function. Her career has spanned both the private sector and government, with previous experience including delivering cyber security strategy and digital transformation at the Boston Consulting Group and BAE Systems.

As Cyber Director, Bella is responsible for:

Supporting departments to improve their cyber resilience through the rollout of the Government Cyber Security Strategy Implementation Programme; The delivery of central transformational proposals such as GovAssure and the Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3) in partnership with CDDO and NCSC; and The response to serious and cross-cutting cyber security incidents, threats and vulnerabilities across government.

Bella has two small children who take up most of her time outside work She loves cooking, family bike rides, watching live music (on rare occasions!), playing the piano and running whilst listening to comedy podcasts

Shehzad Charania

Director of Legal Affairs and International Relations, GCHQ

Shehzad Charania MBE is the Director of Legal Affairs and International Relations at GCHQ. After a number of years in private practice, he joined the Treasury Solicitor’s Department (now the Government Legal Department) before moving to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2009

Between 2013 and 2016 he worked as the Legal Adviser and Head of International Law at the British Embassy in The Hague In 2016 he was seconded to the Attorney General’s Office as the Head of International and EU Law, becoming Director in 2019 before taking up the role of Acting Director General and Head of the Attorney General’s Office in September 2020. Over this 5 year period at the AGO, Shehzad was also the International Law Adviser to 10 Downing Street Shehzad has been the National Security Community Race Champion since 2019.

Lee Stephens

Practice Lead, Security Advisory Services, BT

Lee leads BT’s global security advisory services team, who cover multiple disciplines including: Office of the CISO, GRC, Infrastructure Security, Cloud Security, OT Security, Cyber and Identity.

He’s worked in IT for 25 years, covering a variety of disciplines including research, product development, sales and operations. But since 2013 Lee has primarily focused on cyber security, working with BT clients to support their cyber security strategy. He now drives advisory conversations with UK and global multi-national clients in financial services, manufacturing, government, healthcare, hospitality, retail and logistics Lee is a regular speaker and presenter at events and workshops throughout the UK, in the US, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia He’s focused on great communication, problem solving, leading inclusively and growing talent

Lee Stephens

Keynote Speakers

Raf Sanchez

Global Head of Cyber Services, Beazley

Rafael (Raf) is an acknowledged expert with over 20 years’ experience working in the fields of cyber-security, privacy and technology.

He leads Beazley's global ‘Cyber Services team’ with responsibility for coordinating and delivering Beazley’s suite of incident response and cyber risk services with a focus on giving clients the power, autonomy, knowledge and desire to proactively manage down their cyber exposure by investing in and building out their cyber resilience

Raf joined Beazley from Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he was an Assistant General Counsel and Director for its UK business.

Prior to that, he held senior legal positions at Morgan Stanley in both London and Hong Kong and also had roles at Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong, the Office of the Attorney General in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Chris Ensor

Deputy Director for Cyber Growth, NCSC

Chris has worked in Cyber Security for over 30 years in a variety of ro of which have involved building new capabilities to help organis protect themselves As Deputy Director for Cyber Growth, he is charge using NCSC’s expertise and brand to build national cyber security capa in education, skills, research, innovation and ind

Paul Chichester MBE

Director of Operations, NCSC

Paul Chichester has worked in the UK Government Intelligence and Security community for over 25 years in a variety of cyber roles. For those old enough to remember, he began his career designing and developing secure operating systems that were assured to TCSEC Orange Book A1 standards Since then he's spent time building the UK government's penetration testing team, partnering with industry in developing the UK CHECK scheme, led vulnerability and intrusion detection research teams and been at the forefront of every major cyber investigation for nearly 20 years.

Paul is also one of GCHQ’s Heads of Profession, responsible for developing our existing subject matter experts and ensuring there is a strong and diverse pipeline well into the future. Most recently Paul was appointed as Director Operations in the UK's National Cyber Security Centre which launched on the 1st October last 2016. Paul was awarded the MBE in 2005 for his groundbreaking work on cyber

Keynote Speakers

Jen Ellis

infosecjen

@infosecjen

rnment Cyber Advisory Board, Cabinet Office & r Resilience Expert Advisory Group, UK Department for Science, ation, and Technology

lis is working to reduce cyber risk for society She partners with security ts, technology providers and operators, civil society, and governments, ate greater understanding of cybersecurity challenges and solutions romotes better collaboration among these communities, more effective cybersecurity advocacy, and broader adoption of security best practices.

Jen serves on the UK Cabinet Office’s Government Cyber Advisory Board and the UK Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology’s Cyber Resilience Expert Advisory Group She is an associate fellow of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), co-chair of the Ransomware Task Force, and sits on various non-profit boards and advisory boards She co-hosts the Distilling Cyber Policy podcast, has testified before U S Congress, and is an experienced keynote and public speaker.

Pete Cooper is a recognised international leader across cyber security with extensive experience in private and public sectors as well as military operations across multiple domains. In 2018, Pete founded UK Cyber 9/12 to drive the UK conversation on the need for diverse cyber security skills, creating opportunities and building a diverse talent pool in the next generation of cyber leaders.

He is currently working across several initiatives ranging from the Turing Summit, large scale advisory projects and working with the hacker community in DEFCON In 2023 he was awarded “Cyber Citizen of the Year” at the National Cyber Awards Prior to this he was in the Cabinet Office, where he led the cyber transformation of the UK public sector by delivering the Government Cyber Security Strategy

Ali Dyer

@AliDyer10

Ali Dyer

Chief Information Security Officer, ASOS

Ali joined the online fashion company ASOS as CISO in 2022 where she is responsible for cyber security, physical security and fraud prevention. Prior to joining ASOS, Ali was Group CISO at Urenco.

Ali started her career in production engineering with MetalBox and soon moved into an IT role deploying an ERP system across their European Manufacturing plants She joined GSK in 2002 holding a variety of IT business partner leadership roles, also delivering a number of large complex IT change projects

In 2008 Ali moved to Kuala Lumpur, to set up GSK’s Malaysian Global IT Centre, then on to Singapore delivering the Far East strategy for the creation of a Core Business Services division within GSK It was through leading the Project Management Office for Core Business Services on her return to the UK that resulted in her moving into Information Security in 2012 Ali led GSK’s global cyber security programme for 6 years.

Ali holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London and an MSc in Information Security from Royal Holloway University.

Ali is a member of the UK National Cyber Advisory Board

Pete Cooper

Founder, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Expert Judges

Donna Goddard

Head of Security Engineering, Adarma

Donna Goddard @donnagoddard66

Alistair Thomson

Cybersecurity Portfolio Lead, Adarma

Alistair Thomson

Gerry Bruin

Threat Specialist, Adarma

Gerry Bruin

Scott Melville

Underwriter, Beazley

Scott Melville

Niall McKenzie

Underwriter, Beazley

Niall McKenzie

Dominic King

Underwriter, Beazley

Dominic King

Harriet Kuzemko

Transformation Lead Cyber Programmes, Beazley

Harriet Kuzemko

Medha Shah

Underwriter, Beazley

Medha Shah

Lilly Fogarty

Strategy Consultant in Defence Sector

Deloitte

Lilly Fogarty

Christian Taube

Head of Cyber Services International, Beazley

i Jones

Cyber Security Specialist, The Lego Group

Ceri Jones

Ceri Jones

Mary Haigh

Chief Information Security Officer, BAE Systems

Mary Haigh

Alex Crompton

Head of Security Consulting, BAE Systems Digital Intelligence

Alex Crompton

Purvi Kay

Head of Cyber Security Governance, Risk and Compliance, BAE Systems

Purvi Kay

Sam Kirby-French

Head of Cyber Security Programmes, BAE Systems

Sam Kirby-French

Harriet Rogers

Strategic Cyber Threat Intelligence Specialist, BAE Systems

Harriet Rogers

@Harrie Be

Justin Hayes

Head of Cyber Security & Enterprise IT, BAE Systems

Justin Hayes

Steph Aldridge Director, NeuroCyber NeuroCyber

@NeuroCyberUK

Expert Judges

Harry Balderstone

Head of Cyber Security Services & Operations, Air Sector, BAE Systems

Martin Loebell

Senior Cyber Security Specialist, BAE Systems

Martin Loebell

Matt Roach

Head of the i-4 CISO Network, KPMG

Matt Roach

Sonakshi Kashkari

Lisa Wall

Head of Readiness & Response, Department for Work & Pensions

Steve Hersee

Head of Security Strategy & Policy, Department for Work & Pensions

Steve Hersee

@StevHersee

Interim Secretary, WiCyS UKI Affiliate Board & Senior Manager, Cyber Partnerships, Standard Chartered Bank

Sonakshi Kashkari

Rebecca Spademan

Paralegal, HCR Legal LLP

Rebecca Spademan

Jennifer McGhee

Chief Information Security Officer, Element

Jennifer McGhee

Dan Patefield

Head of Cyber and National Security, techUK

Dan Patefield

@DanielPatefield

Sonia Kumar

Head of Cyber defence, Element

Sonia Kumar

Peter Stephens

Former Head of Secure by Design, DCMS / Lead of Global Forum on Digital Security at OECD

Peter Stephens

Jen Ellis

Government Cyber Advisory Board, Cabinet Office & Cyber Resilience Expert Advisory Group, UK DSIT

/infosecjen

@infosecjen

Eleanor Rees

Head of Cyber Policy Department, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Christopher John Parker MBE Director Government, Fortinet UK

Chris Parker MBE

@chrisoncyber

Karl Lankford

Senior Director, Solutions Engineering, Rapid7

Karl Lankford

Patrick Sawford

Security Solutions Engineer, Rapid7

Patrick Sawford

Andrew Collinson

Head of Marketing & Engagement, CREST International

Andrew Collinson

Expert Judges

Dr Ric Derbyshire

Senior Security Researcher, Orange Cyberdefense

Ric Derbyshire

@RicDerby

Tim Perry

Cybersecurity Programme Delivery Lead, BAE Systems

Dr Andreas Haggman

Principal – Privacy, Security & Academic Partnerships, Ofcom

Andreas Haggman

@Andreas Haggman

Ashely Sweetman

Senior Manager, Cyber Partnerships & Government Engagement at Standard Chartered Bank & Author of Cyber and the City: Securing London’s Banks in the Computer age @ashleysweetman

Iain Logan

Director of Cyber Operations, Delivery & Assurance, BT

Iain Logan

Colin Caskie

Technology Office, Major Government, BT

Colin Caskie

Beckie McAnespie

Consultant, Information Assurance, 6Point6

Beckie McAnespie

Aditi Ramachandran

Associate Director, Cyber Security Strategy, 6Point6

Andrew Kershaw

Principle Consultant, Information Assurance, 6Point6

Andrew Kershaw

Roisin Doyle

Senior Consultant, Information Assurance, 6point6

Roisin Doyle

Antony Harden

Policy, Governance & Culture FCA

Antony Harden

Ed Gillett

Client Partner, IBM Consulting

Ed Gillett

Dr Jamie Collier

Lead Threat Intelligence Advisor (Europe), Google

Jamie Collier

TheCollierJam

Janne Haldesten

Chief Information Security Officer, Sectyne

Janne Haldesten

Rachael Shattock

Group Event Director, Nineteen Group

Rachael Shattock

Gill Thomas

Director of Engagement, Capacity & Resilience Program GCA

VIP Judges

Paul Chichester MBE

Director of Operation, NCSC

Paul Chichester has worked in the UK Government Intelligence and Security community for over 25 years in a variety of cyber roles. For those old enough to remember, he began his career designing and developing secure operating systems that were assured to TCSEC Orange Book A1 standards Since then he's spent time building the UK government's penetration testing team, partnering with industry in developing the UK CHECK scheme, led vulnerability and intrusion detection research teams and been at the forefront of every major cyber investigation for nearly 20 years.

Paul is also one of GCHQ’s Heads of Profession, responsible for developing our existing subject matter experts and ensuring there is a strong and diverse pipeline well into the future Most recently Paul was appointed as Director Operations in the UK's National Cyber Security Centre which launched on the 1st October last 2016 Paul was awarded the MBE in 2005 for his groundbreaking work on cyber.

Ali Dyer

Chief Information Security Officer, ASOS

Ali joined the online fashion company ASOS as CISO in 2022 where she is responsible for cyber security, physical security and fraud prevention. Prior to joining ASOS, Ali was Group CISO at Urenco

Ali started her career in production engineering with MetalBox and soon moved into an IT role deploying an ERP system across their European Manufacturing plants. She joined GSK in 2002 holding a variety of IT business partner leadership roles, also delivering a number of large complex IT change projects. In 2008 Ali moved to Kuala Lumpur, to set up

GSK’s Malaysian Global IT Centre, then on to Singapore delivering the Far East strategy for the creation of a Core Business Services division within GSK It was through leading the Project Management Office for Core Business Services on her return to the UK that resulted in her moving into Information Security in 2012 Ali led GSK’s global cyber security programme for 6 years Ali holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London and an MSc in Information Security from Royal Holloway University. Ali is a member of the UK National Cyber Advisory Board.

Julian Cracknell

Chief Technology & Information Officer, BAE Systems

Julian Cracknell is Chief Technology & Information Officer for BAE Systems. Previously, Julian held a number of senior roles in the Company’s cyber security business including the position of Managing Director Applied Intelligence Julian joined BAE Systems in July 2012

Prior to joining BAE Systems, Julian worked at Logica in a number of roles including Director of National Security and Business Unit Manager for Defence Systems Julian has a First Class Honours Degree in Computer Science from the University of Dundee and is a trustee of Naomi House, a children’s hospice in Hampshire, UK. When not at work Julian enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, reading and keeping fit

VIP Judges

Aurorah Cheney

Aurorah Cheney

Joint Director of Strategy & Growth, BT Security

Aurorah has led large scale business change programmes for a number of FTSE 100 businesses as both a Transformation Director and a Senior Programme Manager with accountabilities for delivering large scale technology and transformational change at a global scale She has experience working globally across several sectors, leading teams for the creation of the EE brand, delivery of the first 4G offerings and the creation of new businesses within Vodafone Returning to BT Group in 2020, she is now Joint Director of Strategy & Growth in BT Security Born in Hawaii, Aurorah has a Master’s in Education from Santa Clara University in California, and an MSc in Business from Oxford University.

In her current role, she is an advocate for building effective leadership skills in cyber and inspiring more diverse talent into senior roles Her strengths lie in bridging the gap between strategy and technical delivery, focusing on turning strategic ambitions into a tangible outcomes She is passionate about creating the right strategies for commercial success, inspiring teams to deliver and ensuring outcomes that help corporations grow.

Pete Cooper

Founder of UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Pete Cooper is a recognised international leader across cyber security with extensive experience in private and public sectors as well as military operations across multiple domains In 2018, Pete founded Cyber 9/12 UK to drive the UK conversation on the need for diverse cyber security skills, creating opportunities and building a diverse talent pool in the next generation of cyber leaders

He is currently working across several initiatives ranging from the Turing Summit, large scale advisory projects and working with the hacker community in DEFCON In 2023 he was awarded “Cyber Citizen of the Year” at the National Cyber Awards Prior to this he was in the Cabinet Office, where he led the cyber transformation of the UK public sector by delivering the Government Cyber Security Strategy. This also saw him leading on cyber incidents impacting government as well as all cyber standards, assurance, policies and Red Teaming

Careers Panel: Tips from the Top

Purvi Kay

Head of Cyber Security Governance Risk & Compliance, BAE Systems

Purvi Kay is a Chartered Aerospace Engineer with 14 years of experience in various Civil Service Departments and the UK Intelligence Community. Purvi also has over 11 years of experience in cyber security and has held various senior leadership positions within Government.

Purvi has developed a skillset in a wide range of cyber security topics, ranging from threat intelligence to embedding a security culture within organisations.

She has taken this experience to empower women around the world to enter the technology industry As an active career mentor, she is keen to develop the right talent pipeline of security professionals

A proud advocate for diversity and inclusion, she is passionate about supporting tech companies embrace true inclusion and create a paradigm shift in recruiting, nurturing and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce She recently delivered a TEDx Talk on How Neurodiversity can Strengthen Cyber Security

Michelle Deady

Senior Management , Business Enablement, Major Government, BT

Michelle is a Senior Business Manager within BT, delivering Security Solutions for government customers around the world. She has also worked in Australia, UK and managed Tech and Business units globally

With a strong operations background, she has a BSc in Information Systems and a Pg Dip focused in Change Management from Birkbeck College, University of London.

Steve Hill

Michelle Deady

curity Senior Visiting Research Fellow, King’s College London puty Group CISIO,UBS (Group CISO, Credit Suisse)

ve is a visiting senior research fellow at King’s College London, and a mber of the King’s College Cybery Research Group He is also the Deputy oup CISO at UBS and Group CISO at Credit Suisse. His earlier appointments Credit Suisse include CISO for the Americas, Global Head of Operational Resilience, and Head of Technology, Cyber and Third party Risk He was previously deputy director, with responsibility for aspects of UK government cyber security, at the National Security Secretariat of the Cabinet Office He served for over thirty years in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in a variety of National Security roles, with a focus on transnational threats such as terrorism He served overseas in Vienna, Washington, Dubai, Kabul and New York.

Raf Sanchez

Global Head of Cyber Services, Beazley Rafael (Raf) is an acknowledged expert with over 20 years’ experience working in the fields of cyber-security, privacy and technology.

He leads Beazley's global ‘Cyber Services team’ with responsibility for coordinating and delivering Beazley’s suite of incident response and cyber risk services with a focus on giving clients the power, autonomy, knowledge and desire to proactively manage down their cyber exposure by investing in and building out their cyber resilience.

Purvi Kay

Careers Panel: Early Careers

Harriet Rogers

Strategic Cyber Threat Intelligence Specialist, BAE Systems

Harriet is a Strategic Cyber Threat Intelligence Specialist at BAE Systems Plc, responsible for developing and delivering strategic cyber threat intelligence across the functions and sectors of a complex global organisation, as well as advising on the global cyber threat landscape.

She joined the company in September 2019 following a period of time in the Middle East during which she studied for an MA in Terrorism, Crime and Global Security specialising in Russian Foreign and Security Policy and Chinese and Russian Cyber-Conflict

Prior to that she was an Air Operations Systems Officer in the RAF, deployed across the UK and overseas in support of both national and NATO air defence and expeditionary operations

Esther Sule

Cybersecurity Consultant, 6Point6

I studied Business Management at the University of Nottingham and I am a 6point6 Graduate Programme Cyber Graduate. I am now a Consultant working on a Central Government project I conduct a cross-functional role aiding the Information Assurance and Blue Teams within the project to remove inefficiencies and improve the cybersecurity culture of the programme.

Laura Price

Employer Brand, Skills & Partnerships, BT Security

Laura Price | Employer Brand Specialist, Global Security, BT Laura heads up the award winning employer brand and strategic partnerships team at BT Security, supporting how BT best attracts develop and retains talent to the business She has a particular focus on entry talent, having previously worked in early careers consultancy roles with a variety of public sector and commercial organisations and lead on student engagement for a University Careers service She works closely with the wider BT Group team to deliver their social value plan with a keen interest in diversity and inclusion in the cyber sector.

Annabelle Gouache

Policy Advisor NIS Regulations, DSIT

Annabelle is a policy advisor in cyber resilience, specifically working on the NIS Regulations, at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). She has a background in Political Science and graduated from UCL in 2023 She also competed in last year’s Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge and reached the semi-finals. Alongside her studies, she also extensively worked in political risk and intelligence

Chris has worked in Cyber Security for over 30 years in a variety of roles, all of which have involved building new capabilities to help organisations protect themselves As Deputy Director for Cyber Growth, he is charged with using NCSC’s expertise and brand to build national cyber security capabilities in education, skills, research, innovation and industry

Esther Sule

Annabelle Gouache

Chris Ensor Deputy Director for Cyber Growth, NCSC

Laura Price

Harriet Rogers

Meet the Team

Robert Black

Director, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Lecturer, Cranfield University

In addition to his role as Director of the UK Cyber 9 / 12 Strategy Challenge, Rob Black is a Lecturer in Information Activities at Cranfield University, at the UK Defence Academy. He teaches on the Ministry of Defence’s Cyberspace Operations MSc and his interests are focused on the nexus of cyber, intelligence and warfighting, deception and the legality of cyber operations He is the former Deputy Director of the UK’s National Cyber Deception Laboratory which explored the potential cyber deception has to offer for cyber defence.

Rob has extensive experience working with cyber practitioners in the planning and delivery of cyber operations. Prior to joining Cranfield, he worked in the field of Influence and Information Operations for the UK MoD since 2003 Rob is also an Associate Programme Director at Wilton Park, an agency of the UK FCDO, where he enables policy dialogues on key issues in defence and national security, cyber and intelligence

Pete Cooper is a recognised international leader across cyber security with extensive experience in private and public sectors as well as military operations across multiple domains In 2018, Pete founded Cyber 9/12 UK to drive the UK conversation on the need for diverse cyber security skills, creating opportunities and building a diverse talent pool in the next generation of cyber leaders He is currently working across several initiatives ranging from the Turing Summit, large scale advisory projects and working with the hacker community in DEFCON In 2023 he was awarded “Cyber Citizen of the Year” at the National Cyber Awards Prior to this he was in the Cabinet Office, where he led the cyber transformation of the UK public sector, delivering the Government’s Cyber Security Strategy

This also saw him leading on cyber incidents impacting government as well as all cyber standards, assurance, policies and Red Teaming The first part of his career was in the UK military where he flew and instructed operational fast jets in the Royal Air Force before transferring to be one of the UK’s first Cyber Operations Officers at the vanguard of building National capability He has a Post Grad in Cyber Operations, is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Cyber Statecraft Initiative of the Atlantic Council, a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Dept of War Studies King’s College London and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society

Dr. Danny Steed

Head of Scenario Team, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Lecturer, Cranfield University & King's College London

Danny Steed is Lecturer in Cyber Security at Cranfield University and King's College London An author, public speaker and consultant as well, Danny's experience covers the creation and delivery of numerous courses, programmes, and scenario exercises specialising in national security strategy to student, professional, and military cadres. Danny also has experience of government service in operational cyber security as well as private industry consultancy His second book, The Politics and Technology of Cyberspace, was published by Routledge in 2019.

Pete Cooper

Founder, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Robert Black

@Robblackuk

Meet the Team

Boris Taratine

Head of Competencies & Skills, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Cybersecurity Advisor & Architect

Boris Taratine is a passionate visionary and an influential ambassador of cybersecurity and cyber defence. Through decades of his career, he held many senior technical and leadership roles across different industries He has been working with renowned companies across the Globe, was engaged in consulting with numerous organizations. Being a trusted adviser to the C-suite, he has helped global businesses understand the importance of cyber disciplines and take proactive actions for improvements

He actively promotes industry collaboration, participates in various industry forums, and is a frequent speaker at various industry events to influence global cybersecurity development Boris is the highest honour graduate at the Saint-Petersburg State University. During his Ph.D. studies, he co-authored a number of publications and patents granted under the NATO HiTech project; further has many publications and dozens of patents granted and pending He is willing to share all the knowledge with anyone who wants to learn – this can be you.

Sofia Liemann Escobar

Scenario Team, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

PhD Researcher, Royal Holloway University

Sofia Liemann Escobar is a PhD researcher at the Centre for Doctoral Training in Cyber Security at Royal Holloway University of London Her interests rest at the intersection of strategy, geopolitics, and cyber security. Prior to this, Sofia completed a Master’s degree in International Security at Sciences Po in Paris, and an undergraduate degree in War studies at King’s College London. Sofia was a member of the winning team of the 2020 edition of the UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge Having thoroughly enjoyed the experience, she has been keen to help out in the following editions of the competition.

Alex Blinda

Scenario Team, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Cyber Threat Operations, PwC

Alex Blinda is currently working in the Cyber Threat Operations team at PwC UK and is a two-time previous competitor in the UK Cyber 9/12 strategy competition. Alex is passionate about the defence side of cybersecurity, including threat hunting, incident response and digital forensics

Alex graduated with a BSc in Computer Science and an MSc in Cyber Security from the University of Birmingham He had worked for various companies in both software development and cybersecurity consultancy roles Alex has been supporting the competition as part of the scenario team since the 2022 edition

Meet the Team

Ben Wainwright

Ben Wainwright

Marketing & Comms Lead, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Co-Founder & CTO, Remap Mental Fitness

Ben is a previous competitor of UK Cyber 9/12, with his team finishing third in the 2021 competition He is passionate about combining his background in technology and human-centred design within the cyber security realm.

In his day job, Ben is the CTO & a co-founder of Remap Mental Fitness, teaching teams & individuals how to train their mind to think, feel & perform like the top 1% He brings his varied experience to the UK Cyber 9/12 team, primarily focusing on marketing and student engagement.

Niklas Henderson

Judge Co-ordinator, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

PhD Student, University of East Anglia

Niklas Henderson is a PhD candidate within the Privacy, Security and Trust research group at the University of East Anglia, a part-time Game Development lecturer at Norwich University of the Arts, and is currently a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge Niklas’s research focuses on making game platforms to elicit effective inoculation interventions against false information. Niklas has particular interest in how analog games (physical games) can be used for this purpose, and how serious game design methods can be used to create more effective interventions After completing his undergraduate in Computer Science at the University of East Anglia, Niklas began a masters in Cybersecurity During this time Niklas competed in the Cyber 9/12 UK Strategy Challenge, and has helped to organise it ever since.

Lindsay Wotjula

Scenario Team & Supporter Co-Ordination, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Incident Response Analyst, ASDA

Lindsay has a background in International Relations and Applied Linguistics She completed her second MA in Economy, State and Society of Central and Eastern Europe with a focus on Politics and Security from University College London (SSEES) and Charles University in Prague. Having lived and worked abroad for over 15 years, she has come to the UK to utilise her interdisiplinary background working in cybersecurity

Meet the Team

Emna Haddouk

Social Media & Comms Team, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Operational Risk and Controls Analyst, SGCIB

After completing her degree in Languages and Political Science and working in the policy field with a main focus on the political economy of the Maghreb region, Emna is currently pursuing a career in operational risk and Cyber Third-Party Risk Management within an investment bank Her interests lie in incident management, cyber policies, and security awareness. Emna is a previous competitor of UK Cyber 9/12, with her team finishing third in the 2022 competition She joined the organizing team in 2023 to take part in this amazing opportunity.

Sophie Powell

Scenario Team & Student Co-Ordination, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Graduate Cyber Security Consultant at CyberFort Group

Co-Founder & Director of CyberWomen Groups C.I.C

Sophie Powell is a Graduate from the University of Warwick in Cyber Security and is currently working with CyberFort Group in a rotational role. Her interests lie with OSINT techniques and its effects on individuals and businesses, which was the speciality of her dissertation on her undergraduate degree. She is also the Co-Founder and Director of CyberWomen Groups C I C, which is a community built to inspire learning, networking, and positive change towards diversity in STEM subjects

Sophie competed in UK Cyber 9/12 as part of WickedCyber from 20202023, and thoroughly enjoyed her time Therefore, she is keen to return and be a part of the team for the upcoming edition.

Jenny McCullagh

Sophie Powell

@Sophie L P

Scenario Team & Student Co-Ordination, UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

Graduate Cyber Security engineer

Co-Founder & Director of CyberWomen Groups C I C

Jenny McCullagh is a Cyber Security Graduate from the University of Warwick and is currently working as a graduate cyber security engineer Her interests lie within incident response and policies within cyber security She is also the Co-Founder and Director of CyberWomen Groups C.I.C., a community-based organisation which aims to inspire positive change in STEM subjects

Jenny competed in the Cyber 9/12 challenge as part of WickedCyber from 2020-2023, and thoroughly enjoyed her experience. Therefore, she is excited to return and be a part of the team for the future competition.

Emna Haddouk

Jenny McCullagh

@Jenny Mcc

Meet the Team

Safa Shahwan Edwards

Director, Capacity Building and Communities, Cyber Statecraft Initiative, Atlantic Council

Safa Shahwan Edwards is the director of Capacity Building and Communities in the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative. In this role, she manages the center's capacity building and trainings portfolio, including the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge, the Cyber Statecraft Initiative’s global cyber policy and strategy competition. Safa holds an MA in International Affairs with a concentration in Conflict Resolution from the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs and a BA in Political Science from Miami University of Ohio. Safa is of Bolivian and Jordanian heritage and speaks Spanish and Arabic

Associate Director, Cyber Statecraft Initiative, Atlantic Council

Stewart Scott is an associate director with the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative He works on the Initiative’s systems security portfolio, which focuses on software supply chain risk management and open source software security policy Stewart earned his B A from Princeton University at the School of Public and International Affairs along with a minor in Computer Science. His course of study centered on misinformation, social media policy, online extremism, journalism, and American political and economic history. He joined the Atlantic Council after interning with its Cyber Statecraft Initiative

Alexander Beatty

Assistant Director, Cyber Statecraft Initiative, Atlantic Council

Alexander Beatty is a program assistant with the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative under the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) In this role, he primarily supports the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge. Alexander is interested in how governments can partner with the aviation sector to advance diAlexander Beatty is a assistant director with the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative. In this role, he primarily supports the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge and other capacity building programs Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, Alexander worked as an education program manager at the United Nations Association of Greater Boston Alexander holds an MA in international affairs, specializing in diplomacy from the Frederick S Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He attained his BA in international relations from Dublin City University

Alphaeus Hanson

Assistant Director, Cyber Statecraft Initiative, Atlantic Council

Alphaeus Hanson is an assistant director with the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative Prior to joining the Council, Hanson was the inaugural security fellow at Krebs Stamos Group (KSG) As an analyst at KSG, he managed its policy portfolio and drafted feedback on National Institute of Standards and Technology space cybersecurity guidance Hanson also developed policy recommendations for Group of Seven (G7) leaders as the 2023 US G7 youth (Y7) economics and peace and security delegate. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Delaware at the Alfred Lerner School of Business and Economics and a foreign language certificate in Spanish.

Stewart Scottl

We are delighted this year that through the support of our sponsors and our supporters at the NCSC we were able to offer a student access fund this year to ensure that no student was prevented from participating due to the cost. This helps enable access to the UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy challenge for all., no matter their socio-economic background.

A Note on Our Access Fund A Heartfelt Thank You

The UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge is achieved through the hard work and dedication of a team of volunteers who recognise the value of this initiative. Their dedication is unbelievable and they are prepared to take on any challenge I ask of them. They are a fantastic bunch of people, driven to make this initiative change the lives of as many students as possible. Working with this team and the generous volunteering of support from judges and mentors, and the organisations we are proud to call our sponsors makes this competition special and something I have been proud to be involved in for the last 7 years and last 4 years as Director. I cannot thank my volunteer team enough, nor that of all the organisations we have involved supporting us.

This support is most appreciated and gives me confidence we can continue to shape the future cyber security leadership landscape here in the UK and internationally. Thank you to all who have supported this year’s UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge.

Best wishes,

Robert Black Director

UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

LONDON,UK

20-21February2024