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The Annual Cyber in Government Conference and Exhibition 2026

CorpAcq Stadium, Greater Manchester 17 June 2026, 9:00am - 4:00pm

CPD accredited by IGPP badge
8:30am
Registration
9:30am
Chairs Opening Remarks
Zeshan Sattar, Director, The Cyber Scheme
9:40am
Opening Keynote: State Threats, National Resilience and the Future of Public Sector Cyber Security
  • The UK’s Evolving State Threat Landscape 
  • Building cross-government cyber resilience 
  • What’s next in government policy and expectations?
Gemma Ungoed-Thomas, Former NCSC & Cabinet Office State Threats, Cyber & Technology Director
10:00am
Operational Resilience in Critical Government Services
  • Understanding how resilience must be embedded across the full service lifecycle, from systems and processes to people and partnerships
  • How collaboration across departments, functions, and agencies strengthens collective resilience and response capabilities
  • Lessons from HMRC on planning, coordination, and maintaining continuity of critical services during major incidents
Dr Robert MacFarlane OBE, Director Resilience, HM Revenue & Customs
10:20am
AI authority drift; closing the governance gap

As agentic AI systems evolve into autonomous operational participants, organisations face a new governance challenge where these systems can accumulate unmanaged power and data access through authority drift. This session introduces a practical framework to control the identity, behaviour, and authority of AI actors operating across complex digital ecosystems in real time. Join us to discover how to implement a robust control plane that uses AI gateways and agent brokers to enable safe innovation while ensuring human accountability and enterprise resilience.

Tim Boundy, Solutions Engineer, Netskope
10:40am
Question & Answers Session
11:00am
Break & Networking
11:30am
Preparing for the Quantum Era and Transitioning to Post-Quantum Cryptography in Government
  • Understand why advances in quantum computing could undermine widely used cryptographic standards and what this means for government systems, sensitive data, and long-term information security
  • Gain an overview of new cryptographic algorithms being developed to withstand quantum attacks, and the global efforts underway to standardise them
  • Explore practical steps public sector organisations can take to begin preparing for post-quantum cryptography and planning long-term migration strategies
Sefton Dosi CISM, Head of Cyber and Information Security, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
11:50am
Visibility, Response and Safety in Modern Cyber Security
  • Why treating all assets equally creates risk, and how prioritisation and visibility are key to protecting interconnected systems
  • Breaking down silos between cyber teams and operational response to enable faster, more coordinated incident management
  • Applying safety-critical thinking to cyber security, and what organisations can learn from industries where risk management is deeply embedded
Joe Del-Prado, DIME Cybersecurity, Transport for London - Elizabeth Line
12:10pm
Evaluating Government Cyber Resilience and Value for Money in an Evolving Threat Landscape
  • Discuss the key findings and conclusions from the January 2025 NAO government cyber resilience report
  • Assess the progress made under the Government Cyber Security Strategy
  • Explore the recommendations on what departments must do to catch up with the escalating threat, how improved governance, accountability, and investment can safeguard the future
Jonathan Pownall, Senior Digital Specialist, National Audit Office
12:30pm
Question & Answers Session



12:40pm
Lunch & Networking
1:40pm
From Strategy to Delivery: Implementing Cyber Security
  • How organisations can translate cyber security strategies into practical, deliverable programmes with clear outcomes and accountability
  • The role of skills, professionalisation, and workforce development in successfully implementing cyber security initiatives
  • How to assess progress, demonstrate impact, and evolve cyber strategies in response to emerging threats
Amanda Finch, CEO, Chartered Institute of Information Security
2:00pm
Cyber Security Leadership in an AI-Enabled World
  • Moving beyond frameworks to embed meaningful, outcome-focused security across public sector organisations
  • Opportunities, risks, and practical applications of AI in strengthening cyber defence and decision-making
  • Building capability through professionalisation, certifications, and continuous development in an increasingly complex threat landscape
Simon Salmon, President, East Midlands ISC2 Chapter
2:20pm
Strengthening Cyber Resilience Across National Policing
  • How policing organisations are identifying and prioritising risks across critical systems, digital platforms, and operational services
  • The importance of national coordination, information sharing, and cross-organisational collaboration in responding to cyber threats
  • Strengthening security, incident response, and operational continuity within high-pressure public service environments
Chris Cope, Interim National Police Chief Information Security Officer, Police Digital Service
2:40pm
Question & Answers Session
2:50pm
Break & Networking
3:20pm
Managing Cyber Risk in Local Government
  • How local authorities can prioritise and manage cyber risk effectively within limited budgets and competing pressures
  • Ensuring leadership visibility, clear ownership, and alignment between cyber security, IT, and organisational risk frameworks
  • Lessons learned in improving incident readiness, managing third-party risk, and protecting critical services
  • Questions and answers
Joseph Taylor, Head of Cyber Security and Risk, West Northamptonshire Council
3:40pm
Managing Cyber Security Risk Across Government
  • How organisations can identify, prioritise, and manage cyber risks across complex operational environments
  • The role of senior leaders, assurance frameworks, and organisational oversight in improving cyber resilience
  • Lessons on coordinating security, risk, and operational continuity across interconnected public sector environments.
  • Questions and answers
4:00pm
Chairs Closing Remarks
4:05pm
Close

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