An elite lineup of public sector cyber security pioneers will deliver keynotes, panels, workshops and roundtables on pressing issues including incident response, human-layer security, and public-sector supply chain protection – whilst exploring how cutting-edge technologies are shaping both offensive and defensive cyber strategies.
08:45 – 09:20
Registration & Refreshments
09:20 – 09:30
Chair’s Opening Remarks
09:30 – 09:50
Opening keynote: Inside the DWP’s Proactive Approach to Protecting Services from Attack
In this opening presentation, John Keegan will explain how the Department for Work and Pensions has taken a proactive secure-by-default approach to protecting services from cyberattacks. This includes a structured approach to build enterprise controls across services, embedded as part of the software development lifecycle to shift left and democratise cybersecurity across product and engineering teams.
John Keegan, Deputy Director, Head of Digital Security, Department for Work and Pensions
09:50 – 10:05
Combating the Weaponisation of AI
Delivered by Headline Sponsor Fortinet
Cybercriminals are not bound by politics or law. They increasingly leverage AI and automation to perform advanced attacks on all organisations. During this session, we will discuss how technology, people and partnerships can unite to enable our security teams to defend our world more effectively.
Dan Kendall, Enterprise Architect, Lead Technologist – Government & National Security UK&I, Fortinet
10:05 – 10:20
Q&A: Building Cyber Skills Across Government
This session will explore how strategies, frameworks and directed investments in recent years have been targeted at helping public bodies.
Thomas Beautyman, Deputy Director Government Digital Capability, Central Digital and Data Office
10:20 – 10:35
Presentation: Introducing the New Cyber Security Standard for Local Government
The Local Digital Team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government recently launched the Cyber Assessment Framework, which was developed in partnership with councils to help provide them with ‘a clear standard to assess and improve cyber resilience and address vulnerabilities that could disrupt critical services’. In this presentation, the framework’s service owner will introduce the framework and explain how it can benefit local government.
Katie Owen, Cyber Assessment Framework service owner, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
10:35 – 11:00
Q&A With Morning Speakers
This session will give attendees the chance to put their questions to all our morning speakers.
11:15 – 12:05
Roundtable: What Trends are Defining the Current Threat Landscape?
This discussion, held behind closed doors on a Chatham House rules basis, will allow a select group of event attendees to meet with peers and discuss current trends in the biggest threats they face, including cybercriminals and nation-state attacks, as well as human-layer security issues and questions of data ethics.
Chaired by Suzannah Brecknell, editor, Civil Service World
11:15 – 11:40
Workshop: Is your Incident Response Plan Ready for Action?
Most organisations have, at least, a plan for responding to a successful cyberattack. But, until the worst happens, it can be difficult to know whether the plan is really up to scratch. In this session, incident-response leaders from Unit 42 will share their frontline experience to help you understand how public sector bodies can best prepare for an attack, to ensure that damage is mitigated and services are protected.
Jack Hughes, Head of Digital Forensics and Incident Response, EMEA, Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks
11:40 – 12:05
Workshop: How Much Progress Has Government Made on Tackling Legacy Tech?
For all its good cyber intentions, government security programmes and policies have always been challenged by one major sticking point: the ongoing prevalence of legacy technology across many departments. In this presentation, expert analysts from the National Audit Office will provide an insight from their research as to the success of efforts to root out and replace ageing systems.
Jonathan Pownall, Senior Digital Specialist, National Audit Office
11:15 – 12:05
Lightning Talks: Managing Procurement and Protecting Supply Chains
In this section, experts will give quickfire insights into how public sector buyers can safely navigate the procurement landscape, adapt to new legislation, and ensure their supply chains – which can often represent the biggest attack surface – is robustly protected. Speakers will collectively take questions from the audience.
Hollie Hodgson, Head of Account Management, Tussell
DSU Ian Kirby, CEO, National Cyber Resilience Centre Group
Sam Trendall, Editor & Chair, PublicTechnology
12:55 – 13:45
Panel discussion – What is Cyber-Resilience, and How Can We Measure It?
Many cyber policies now talk about resilience, rather than security – not least the public sector-wide Government Cyber Security Strategy which did not pledge watertight defences but, rather, that “ “government’s critical functions will be significantly hardened to cyberattack by 2025, with the whole public sector being resilient to known vulnerabilities and attack methods no later than 2030”. This discussion will explore what resilience means, how it can best embedded across an organisation, and how to maintain and monitor key metrics.
Amie Alekna, Chief Security Officer, Ministry of Justice
DCI Fiona Bail, National Cyber Path Lead, NCRCG
Sapna Chadha, Chief Executive, Cyber Resilience Centre for London
Cllr Alex Coley, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, and Deputy Chair Improvement and Innovation Board, Local Government Association
Sam Trendall, Editor & Chair, PublicTechnology
14:00 – 14:25
Q&A: How the MHRA Stayed Resilient in Responding to Covid and Cyberthreats
During 2020 and 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency – not always the most high-profile part of government – was engaged in some of the most important and challenging work undertaken by the civil service in recent decades. The regulator was responsible for supporting the process of creating and, ultimately, green-lighting the safe use of coronavirus vaccines and other treatments. And, all the while, the MHRA was consistently among the most the country’s top targets for cyberattackers. Even in an ordinary month, the organisation faces an average of 25,000 cyber alerts. In this onstage Q&A, Claire Harrison, the chief digital and technology of the MHRA, will discuss how the organisation stays resilient in the face of these threats, and how it has progressed since pandemic, including collaborating with counterparts and tackling legacy infrastructure – and how all of this supports innovation.
Claire Harrison, Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
14:25 – 15:10
Focus On: Are We Protecting the Mental Health of Cyber Professionals?
Research reports – and plenty of anecdotal evidence – have revealed the potential mental-health impact of working in the often stressful and high-stakes cyber profession, including burnout, depression and anxiety. In this panel discussion, experts will examine the issue and ask what more can be done to protect staff by employers and sector bodies.
Bella Powell, Cyber Director, Government Security Group, Cabinet Office
Jill Broom, Head of Programme, Cyber Resilience, Techuk
Noor Taha, Mental Health First Aider & Chair of the Mental Health Ambassador Network, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Sam Trendall, Editor & Chair,PublicTechnology
Sponsorship Opportunities
Our tailored sponsorship packages deliver exceptional visibility, putting your best people, products, and services front and centre. From prominent branding, networking, and thought-leadership opportunities to lead-generation and relationship-building, we can develop your bespoke package.
This is your chance to forge new relationships that drive sales and open new growth avenues.
