top of page

REFLECTIONS AND PROJECTIONS

ch6682



CYBER LONDON IS BORN

 

Cyber London, the recognised Cyber Cluster for London, officially came into this world in June last year, being co-founded by five of London’s experts, Simon Newman, Prof Raj Rajarajan, Izak Oosthuizen, Mark Child and Paresh Deshmukh.

 

  • Simon has a background in senior management positions across the public sector, including working for the Home Office. At the moment, he is the CEO of the Online Dating and Discovery Association (ODDA).

  • Prof Raj is the founding Director of the Centre for Cyber Security for Society at City St George’s University of London. His areas of expertise include cloud and network security, privacy-enhancing technologies and IoT security.

  • Izak is an accomplished London IT thought leader, entrepreneur, and cybersecurity expert. He is the CEO of Zhero Limited, a London-headquartered MSP and cybersecurity company which Izak founded in 2006.

  • Mark is the CEO of Quantum Evolve, a leading Cybersecurity Resilience consultancy. He is an expert in compliance, risk management, and advanced threat detection.

  • Paresh is the founder and Group CEO of Baseel Partners LLP, a company providing IT solutions tailored to unique requirements for 800 businesses in 100 countries. Paresh is a motivated philanthropist, and using his expertise in cybersecurity, is determined to bring about positive change in our world.

 

Cyber London is recognised and supported by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT), and UKC3, the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration.

 

WHAT IS CYBER LONDON ALL ABOUT?

 

Cyber London seeks to position itself as a champion for innovation and collaboration, working with partners to develop a healthy ecosystem that maintains London’s position as a global leader in cyber. As a not-for-profit, it will also have a strong international focus, working with strategic partners who share its vision, and identify opportunities for collaboration, inward investment and ongoing support to put London at the forefront of technology. Ultimately, Cyber London strives to establish London as a world-leading Centre of Excellence for Cyber and the safest place on the planet to do business online. Besides its focus on innovation, Cyber London will support London’s cyber landscape through skills development and use a community-based approach to achieve its outcomes.

 

REFLECTIONS ON 2024

 

As anticipated, 2024 was an exciting and fruitful first year for Cyber London, with an array of events, both online and in person. Cyber experts, and those not so au fait with technology, had many opportunities to come together, network, and build on their knowledge of cybersecurity. Here is a snapshot of what turned out to be a whirlwind success for Cyber London.

 

2024 EVENTS AND ROUNDTABLES

 

  • Cyber London Launch – On 21 June, Cyber London was launched as the official Cyber Cluster for London at City St George’s University of London. Sponsored by N-able and with over 200 participants, the launch celebrated cyber collaboration and innovation. COSPI, a key research hub shaping the future of cybersecurity and its impact on industry and society, was also unveiled at the event.

  • Supply Chain Attack Roundtable – In September, Cyber London hosted an exclusive roundtable aimed at empowering SMEs with strategies for resilience against supply chain attacks, including education, ransomware insurance and proactive threat mitigation. The Rt Hon Stephen McPartland, a former MP and a strategic consultant and non-executive specialist in risk, governance, cybersecurity and digital sustainability led the session. Report available here.

  • Impact of AI -  In October, Cyber London and CyNam, the Cheltenham Cyber Cluster, hosted a roundtable on the impact of AI on SMEs, again at City St George’s University of London. Chaired by Mark, participants explored how AI can accelerate business operations and drive business innovation. Report available here.

  • USA Visit -  In November, Cyber London welcomed Virginia Beach Economic Development, forging ties with a growing cyber cluster in the United States and fostering collaboration in cybersecurity and business development. Simon also attended a reception held at the USA embassy.

  • Singapore Delegation - Also in November, in conjunction with London & Partners and Grow London, Cyber London hosted a delegation of business executives from Singapore on behalf of the UKC3.

  • Innovation for the Future – Later in November, the “Innovation for the Future” event was held at City St George’s University of London and sponsored by N-able. Experts and thought leaders came together to shape the future of cybersecurity in the UK through discussions on skills gaps, mentoring and MSP innovation.

  • Healthcare Cybersecurity Conference -  In December, Izak shared strategies at the Healthcare Cybersecurity Conference in Manchester on how to safeguard data and rover from cyberattacks in the healthcare sector.

 

2024 WEBINARS

 

  • EU AI Act – Cyber London’s first webinar in March focused on this ground-breaking regulation set to shape the future of AI. The event was hosted by Simon, joined by experts Michael Borelli, Sean Musch and Charles Kerrigan, all inputting on the impact of the EU AI Act on high-risk AI systems and its role in promoting ethical and safe AI innovation.

  • Ransomware – In September, Morphisec provided vital insights into the evolving ransomware threat landscape, equipping attendees with actionable best practices, an anti-ransomware assurance checklist, and strategies to fortify systems against emerging cyber threats.

  • Women in Cyber -  In October, Cyber London celebrated its inaugural ‘Women in Cyber’ event, where industry leaders Tamlynn Deacon from Hottinger Brüel & Kjær and Sally-Anne Jones from N-able inspired attendees with their journey and challenges through the world of cyber.

  • N-able  In October, Simon hosted Lewis Pope from N-able and Louis Oosthuizen from Zhero who shared their insights on N-able innovation IT solutions and the impact of the technology empowering IT professionals.

  • Cyber Skills Gap – Again in October, Cyber London proudly hosted a webinar addressing the cyber skills shortage in the UK. Izak, along with cyber experts Rebecca Keen from OxCyber, Tooba Qasim, Ed Parsons and Mark Pearce offered invaluable insights and advice for standing out from the crowd in the competitive cyber security market.

  • Women in Cyber – In December, Industry leaders Nivya Ravi from CloudSEK and Poorva Deshmukh from Baseel shared their insights aimed at inspiring the next generation of women in cybersecurity.

  • OT Security – In December, Simon, Mark and Ander Galisteo Zabalo from ZeroLynx provided a comprehensive approach to securing businesses through OT cybersecurity, focusing on risk management and Zero Trust principles.


For those who would like to catch up, these webinars are available on the Cyber London LinkedIn page.

 

MENTORING

 

In September, Cyber London launched its mentoring platform in partnership with Bassel. The platform connects students with seasoned cyber professionals and means that students can step out of the comfort zone of the classroom and receive  personalized support to develop essential cyber skills and real-world internship opportunities. By extension, mentors shape the next generation of cyber security talent while expanding their own networks and contributing to a safer digital future.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

In 2024, Cyber London signed up for Facebook and LinkedIn. While having only 160 followers on the Zuckerberg platform, it has clocked up an impressive 2,150 followers on LinkedIn in just a few short months.

 

CYBER LONDON SPONSORS

 

In 2024, Cyber London was honoured to be sponsored by N-able, CloudSEK and Armis. Additional sponsors are in the pipeline for 2025 and beyond. Gratitude is extended to the sponsors without whom much of this cutting-edge work could not be accomplished.

 

PROJECTIONS FOR 2025

 

If this year is anything like 2024 for Cyber London, it promises to be exceptional. Besides the multitude of planned networking events over the year and the provision of free training to Cyber London members for upskilling/reskilling, each month has a dedicated theme allocated to it. Themes include

 

  • Community Awareness

  • Cyber Essentials

  • Mental Health Awareness

  • Cyber Startups

  • Cyber Skills

  • MSP and SME Resilience

  • Cybersecurity Awareness Month

 

2025 EVENTS AND ROUNDTABLES

 

Here are some of the key Cyber London events  and roundtables planned for 2025:

 

  • January - Resilience in Focus for CISOs – an exclusive roundtable breakfast for security leaders sponsored by CloudSEK.

  • January - From Reactive to Resilient – an afternoon roundtable for Public Sector leaders aimed at transforming cyber posture from reactive to resilient sponsored by Armis

  • February – London & Partners talk FinTech

  • April – Advice from investors event with Foresight to be held in the Shard

  • June – Cyber Mentoring Day – an open day for startups

 

2025 WEBINARS

 

Here are some of the Cyber London webinars planned for 2025:

 

  • January – Threats to look out for in 2025 – hosted by N-able

  • February – Safer Internet Day – How to Stay Ahead hosted by N-able

  • February – Women in Cyber – SOC Analysts at Work

  • February – Navigating Compliance – Steps for SMEs to achieve Cyber Essentials Certification

  • March – World Backup Day = Best practices for data backups and business continuity

  • April – Women In Cyber – Ethical Hacking Careers

  • May – World Password Day – Password attack types

 

0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

留言


Cyber London is the recognised Cyber Cluster for London and supported by: 

DSIT logo.png
UKC3 Logo.png
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Website design by S&E Newman

(C) Copyright 2024

Cyber London Limited

162 Farringdon Road

London

EC1R 3AS

Email: info@cyberlondon.com

Tel: 02078705755

Company No. 15080724

Cookie Policy

Privacy Policy

bottom of page