The 2025 Agenda

Across a day of exclusive sessions, the agenda will cover the UK’s response to major cyber incidents, leadership-driven cyber objectives, support for public sector cyber professionals, adapting to evolving threats, and ensuring resilience across all levels of government.

08:45 – 09:20

Registration & Refreshments

09:20 – 09:30

Chair’s Opening Remarks

09:30 – 09:50

Opening keynote: How is the UK response to the most serious cyber incidents?

The scale, complexity and diversity of the cyberthreats facing the UK – including the country’s government, economy, and national infrastructure – continues to grow with each passing year. In this session, cybersecurity leaders will discuss national response plans for the incidents we have already faced, and those we might encounter in the future.

09:50 – 10:05

Headline partner keynote: How has AI changed the threat landscape?

While artificial intelligence and automation offers powerful capabilities to security professionals, it also provides new tools and opportunities to attackers, and the potential to escalate and intensify many existing threats. This presentation will examine how new technology is reshaping the biggest risks facing public bodies.

10:05 – 10:20

Do public sector leaders have a grip on cybersecurity?

It is a well-worn mantra that, in any organisation, ‘cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility’ – and that begins from the top. This session will examine what the most senior figures in government need to do to ensure they effective cyber leaders – and whether they are currently doing it.

10:20 – 10:35

Ensuring government’s tech infrastructure is resilient

In recent years, government has made a concerted effort to increase its understanding of key cyber risks across the public sector. In this session, delegates will hear more about how the findings of this work and how public bodies are responding to boost their defences.

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 – 11:40: Workshop: Will employees ever engage with cyber training

It is a truth universally acknowledged in the cyber sector that humans are the biggest and most vulnerable attack surface of any organisation. Almost all public bodies and companies now have extensive training and awareness programmes in place. But, for many, the uptake and success of these schemes remains variable. This workshop will provide expert advice on how to ensure your workforce is engaging as fully and effectively as possible with security training.

11:40 – 12:05: Workshop: How to adopt a proactive approach to cyber

Cybersecurity has long been centred on notions of defending against attacks and those who perpetrate them. But a growing number of organisations are reaping the benefits of going on the front foot against the biggest threats they face. This workshop will explain what is meant by ‘proactive cyber’, how best to implement its principles, and the benefits of such an approach.

11:15 – 12:05: Roundtable | Are you people, processes and tech equipped for incident response?

A widely attributed mantra in the world of boxing has it that, going into the ring, ‘everyone has a plan until they get hit’. Similarly, almost all organisations will have a playbook for responding to a cyberattack. Of course, the reality is likely far different and, in this Chatham House rules roundtable discussion, a select group of attendees will have a chance to compare notes on their incident-response plans – and how they might work in actuality, including sharing best practice and key challenges.

12:55 – 13:45

Panel discussion – Protecting frontline services from cyber threats

Cyberattacks pose severe operational risks to all kinds of organisations. But, for those that provide critical public services and support for society’s most vulnerable, the dangers posed by disruption and interruption are grave. This panel discussion will bring together local leaders to explore how their organisation’s cyber set-up can help safeguard services.

14:00 – 14:30

In focus: Protecting the mental health of cyber professionals

In this session, advocates and experts in mental health will discuss how colleagues and employers can best support the well being of experts working in a singularly stressful field. The audience will be encouraged to engage with questions and contributions throughout.

14:30 – 15:15

Panel discussion | Criminals, hostile states and ideologues: who is attacking the public sector and why?

The UK public sector – and the country as a whole – has never faced such a diverse array of bad actors in the cyber sphere, all with very different motives and methods of attack, including misinformation as well as traditional cyber aggression. This panel discussion will bring together experts to discuss different types of attackers and the scale of the danger they pose to public services.