At this year’s Digital City Festival, a number of key industry speakers and events will showcase Greater Manchester as the destination for innovation within the cyber security sector.
With the region already home to GCHQ, the UK’s national security agency, the week-long festival held between March 7th and 11th will celebrate how the region is the epicentre of cyber security in the UK and internationally.
The two-day showcase at Digital City Expo, the main event of the festival held at Manchester Central, will include a keynote session from Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) with key figures delving into how Greater Manchester is a global digital influence in cyber on Wednesday, March 9th.
During the session, attendees will hear from the likes of Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester Council and GMCA Lead for Digital, Education, Skills, Work and Apprenticeships; and Victoria Knight, Strategic Campaigns Director at BAE systems and Co-Chair at Greater Manchester Cyber Security Advisory Group.
The event will also include the thoughts of Detective Superintendent Neil Jones, Managing Director at North West Cyber Resilience Centre; Ruby Motabhoy, Innovation Lead at Plexall; and Professor Emma Barrett OBE, Professor of Psychology, Security, and Trust at the University of Manchester and Director at SPRITE+.
The session will explore the steps taken by Greater Manchester to be recognised internationally as a centre of digital innovation, research and practice in the cyber security sector. It follows the news last year that the government’s National Cyber Force selected the region as its new permanent base.
It will also address the threats of cyber-crime and why the cyber security industry is crucial through the increase in remote working and businesses and services shifting to online.
