CyNam, Cheltenham's cyber cluster, will host its final live showcase of the year, CyNam 21.3-Keeping the Lights on: Building Resilience into our Critical National Infrastructure, on October 21.

The line-up brings together cyber experts from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), CGI, Sopra Steria, Deloitte, DeMontfort University, University of Bristol, Reef Group, Hub8, Plexal, Microfocus and CACI, to explore how the industry is taking steps to make the UK the safest place to live and work online.

Following the easing of lockdown restrictions, CyNam 21.3 marks the organisation's first-ever hybrid event, with both an online event and a physical event for about 300 attendees at the Parabola Arts Centre in Cheltenham.

The House of Commons Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy recognises that there is a real possibility of a major cyber attack targeting the UK, which is considered a top-tier threat to the country.

That's why the event will explore how cyber innovation can protect the assets that allow our daily lives to continue as normal. CyNam 21.3 will make this insight accessible for all, including students, academics, people working in critical national infrastructure and anyone with an interest in cyber security.

Talking to Punchline-Gloucester editor, Mark Owen, Richard Yorke, MD of Cynam, said: "What we're hoping to do with the event is raise some of the issues and debate some of the things that businesses in the Critical National Infrastructure sector can do to become more resilient.

"We'll be having panel sessions and discussions around hot topics, to cover the full range of CNI.

"The key is also for the cyber security industry in the region to understand what challenges are facing the sector, so that they can offer the services and products needed to help them become more secure."

The last CyNam online event in June 2021 saw over 1,000 attendees tuning in from across the globe, making it the organisation's most successful conference to date.

Richard continued: "Critical National Infrastructure and cyber security have become more entwined in recent times, with hackers now able to bring down national economies and emergency services.

"In order for the UK to retain its position as a leader in cyber security, we must do more to improve our cyber resilience to prevent a major incident from occurring. Our latest event will help attendees to understand the role that we all have in making sure that our services and people remain safe from harm."

CyNam has been running since 2016 and, before the pandemic, held physical events for around 200 to 300 attendees.

Richard said: "We're really looking forward to getting back to being in the same room and really helping with that networking and collaboration."

Registration for the online event is now open here, with registration for the physical event coming soon.

The conference will take place from 6pm - 8pm on Thursday October 21.