Aspire CyberFest 23 Replay
We’re pleased to share the informative sessions from Aspire CyberFest, held at St James’ Park, 26.09.23.
Session Links
- Welcome and opening address
Chris Fraser – CEO, Aspire
- KEYNOTE SESSION: Revolutionising Cyber Security: AI and Machine Learning – Friend or Foe?
Sarah Armstrong-Smith – Chief Security Advisor for Europe, Microsoft
- Democratising Security Through AI
John Lester – Senior Engineering Manager, CrowdStrike
- Cyber Incident Response Case Study: Unveiling Effective Strategies to Enhance Capabilities
Adam Veitch -Product Lead, Aspire
Michael Lamb -Incident Response Lead, Aspire
- Interacting with Threat Actors: The Legal Framework and the Impact of AI
Andy Parsons – Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
- Managing Your Exposure In The Age Of Digital Transformation
Sanara Marsh – Security Evangelist, Randori, an IBM Company
- Welcome and Afternoon Address
Phil Jackman – Director, CyberNorth
Viscount Camrose – Minister for AI and Intellectual Property.
- Do Sweat the Small Stuff: How Small Mistakes Can Lead to Big Breaches
Bob McKay – Operations Director, Aspire
- Paradigm shifts in cyber security and relevance to the UK CNI (Critical National Infrastructure)
Dr Alex Baxendale – Vice President Consulting Expert, CGI
- Top 10 Practices for Zero Trust Security
Jaspal Virdee – Principal Solutions Architect EMEA, Extreme Networks
- Enhancing Security in IoT and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS)
Mujeeb Ahmed – Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security, Newcastle University
- Q&A Panel Session: Engage with our Expert Speakers
Highlights from Aspire CyberFest 2023
We want to thank everyone who was able to attend Aspire CyberFest at St James’ Park. Together, CyberNorth and Aspire successfully hosted the region’s leading cyber security event.
We were thrilled to welcome over 350 delegates from businesses across the North East and beyond.
For those who couldn’t make it on the day, we wanted to make the sessions from our expert speakers publicly available to enjoy at your own convenience.
If you would like any additional information or copies of the slides, please contact marketing@aspirets.com.
Welcome and opening address
Chris Fraser – CEO
Chris founded Aspire in 2006 and now leads the board of directors. Chris is responsible for Aspire’s technology strategy to ensure they continue to deliver the most innovative solutions to customers across the UK and beyond.
KEYNOTE SESSION: Revolutionising Cyber Security: AI and Machine Learning – Friend or Foe?
Sarah Armstrong-Smith
Chief Security Advisor for Europe at Microsoft
Sarah has led a long and impactful career, developing specialisms in artificial intelligence and future technologies, addressing the impacts they have on cyber security. She has vast experience guiding businesses through digital attacks and teaching organisations how best to protect their data.
Sarah Armstrong-Smith will explore the profound impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) on cyber security practices, showcasing how technology can transform organisations’ resilience against emerging threats. Drawing from her extensive expertise, Sarah will provide valuable insights into harnessing the power of AI and ML to enhance threat detection, incident response, and proactive defences. Prepare to gain a deeper understanding of the transformative potential of AI and ML, and their pivotal role in shaping the future of cyber security.
Democratising Security Through AI
John Lester
Senior Engineering Manager at CrowdStrike
John is responsible for helping organisations maintain control against the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape. He supports customers in securing their most critical areas of risk – endpoints and cloud workloads, identity, and data – to keep them ahead of today’s adversaries and stop breaches.
Join CrowdStrike’s John Lester as he explores the synergy between generative AI and security. CrowdStrike’s market leading expertise will take centre stage, illustrating how generative AI is democratising security accessibility. Discover the groundbreaking innovation—Charlotte AI— a specialised AI security analyst developed by CrowdStrike. This solution is designed to help organisations improve their ability to stop breaches while simplifying the intricacies of security operations. This session will offer an insightful glimpse into the practical applications of generative AI in the security landscape.
Cyber Incident Response Case Study: Unveiling Effective Strategies to Enhance Capabilities
Adam Veitch
-Product Lead at Aspire
Michael Lamb
-Incident Response Lead at Aspire
Join Aspire’s cyber experts as they explore a real-life case study on cyber incident response within the aviation industry. The session will walk through the timeline of events, providing an analysis of the valuable lessons learned and exploring strategies for mitigating the impact. By emphasising practical insights into containment efforts and incident management protocols, this session will outline the essential stages of effective cyber incident response, and equip you with actionable takeaways to enhance your organisation’s cyber incident response capabilities.
Interacting with Threat Actors: The Legal Framework and the Impact of AI
Andy Parsons
Partner
Andrew is a partner in the dispute resolution team with a focus on commercial disputes in the technology sector. He has expertise in managing issues through a variety of forums including litigation, arbitration, expert determination and mediation.
In today’s interconnected world, cyber threats have become a constant concern for businesses and individuals. Interactions with threat actors, whether through communication or ransom negotiations, raise significant legal and ethical issues. Moreover, with the increasing adoption of AI, there is a growing concern about its potential impact on exfiltrated data exploitation and how it may reshape the way we deal with threat actors. Join Andy Parsons, Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson as he delves into the legal, ethical and AI landscape of ransom negotiations.
Managing Your Exposure In The Age Of Digital Transformation
Sanara Marsh
Security Evangelist at Randori, an IBM Company
Sanara Marsh is Security Evangelist and Director of Product Marketing for Randori, an IBM Company. Sanara focuses on trends in cyber security and looks to apply methods to operationalise security programs. Working with a range of organisations to improve their security programs, Sanara has experience in endpoint as well as the exposure management space.
The integration of threat intelligence, attack surface and vulnerability management into Threat Management Programs aiming to establish visibility, detection, investigation and response, are becoming more complex as infrastructure and workforces expand and adapt. This not only makes threat management more challenging, but can also dramatically increase our exposure to attack.
So how can we do a better job of proactively understanding and reducing the risks and exposures associated with this disparate environment, while simultaneously reducing the stress on our threat management systems and teams? Sanara Marsh, Security Evangelist at Randori, an IBM Company will discuss.
Welcome and Afternoon Address
Phil Jackman
– Director, CyberNorth
Viscount Camrose
– Minister for AI and Intellectual Property
Do Sweat the Small Stuff: How Small Mistakes Can Lead to Big Breaches
Bob McKay
Operations Director at Aspire
Bob heads up Aspire’s security and operations divisions. He is responsible for the development, design, and implementation of Aspire’s information security portfolio. Bob and his team work to secure our customers against the ever-evolving cyber threat.
Bob McKay, Aspire’s Operations Director will present a practical demonstration illustrating how seemingly unsophisticated hackers can compromise a company’s IT systems using freely available tools and basic intelligence gathering. Bob will provide a walk through of a penetration test to demonstrate the techniques attackers can use to prepare for an attack, showcasing how simple gaps in the security perimeter can be exploited, ultimately leading to unauthorised access to company ‘crown jewels’.
Paradigm shifts in cyber security and relevance to the UK CNI (Critical National Infrastructure)
Dr Alex Baxendale
Vice President Consulting Expert
Alex has delivered security services across a broad range of industry segments within his career but has, for the past nine years, been directly supporting the utilities sector in the design, build and operation of sensitive national services.
The realm of cyber security has undergone multiple paradigm shifts, due to ongoing conflicts between the threat actors who threaten digital systems, and those who protect them. With the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the impact of new and emerging technologies is fundamentally changing society; this transformation will inevitably impact how we deal with cyber risks.
Dr. Alex Baxendale, Vice President Consulting Expert at global IT and business consultancy CGI, will delve into an upcoming ‘discontinuity’, where the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) faces vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities arise from managing legacy systems, planning for future infrastructure, dealing with increased connections, and facing advanced threats. What changes will occur? What opportunities will they bring? And how will this affect the CNI? Dr. Alex Baxendale will discuss!
Top 10 Practices for Zero Trust Security
Jaspal Virdee
Principal Solutions Architect EMEA
With over 30 years of experience in IT, Jaspal has worked with organisations across a range industries to help raise awareness and shape their Customer Security Digital Strategy Goals. Jaspal is focused on Networking and security, utilising Software Defined Technologies to deliver meaningful business benefits.
In an increasingly interconnected digital world, a robust security strategy is essential for safeguarding businesses against a multitude of cyber threats. In this session, Jaspal Virdee, Principal Solutions Architect at Extreme Networks—a leader in cloud networking solutions—will explore top 10 practices for Zero Trust Security. With a focus on the practical creation of a strong security foundation, delegates will gain insights into adopting a holistic approach to security, developing a comprehensive security ecosystem, and strategically reducing the attack surface of their businesses. The session will delve into the interplay between people, processes, and technology to showcase how a coordinated approach can yield a robust security ecosystem.
Enhancing Security in IoT and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS)
Mujeeb Ahmed
Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security at Newcastle University
Mujeeb Ahmed is a Senior Lecturer in cyber security at the Newcastle University. His research interests are in the security of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), the Internet of Things (IoT), Communication Systems, and Critical Infrastructures.
In this session, Mujeeb Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security at Newcastle University, will explore strategic research and development opportunities for 21st-century CPS, emphasising the importance of threat intelligence, testbeds, and datasets in mitigating security risks. Mujeeb will delve into the role of AI in bolstering security, showcasing its potential in threat detection and response. Discover insights into ongoing and future university projects dedicated to IoT security and CPS ecosystems in an interconnected world.
Q&A Panel Session: Engage with our Expert Speakers
Expert Panel Session
Dive into a dynamic panel discussion featuring our event experts.
Hosted by
Annabel Berry, CEO at Ladies Hacking Society / CyberNorth Chair
Chris Fraser, CEO at Aspire
Panellists:
Jaspal Virdee, Principal Solution Architect at Extreme Networks
Andrew Parsons, Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson
Sanara Marsh, Security Evangelist at Randori, an IBM Company
John Lester, Senior Engineering Manager at CrowdStrike
Bob Mckay, Operations Director at Aspire