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Aston University to officially launch Cyber Security Innovation Centre at Birmingham Tech Week

Sep 28, 2021

2 min

Vladlena Benson


  • It will take place at Conference Aston on 13 October, during Birmingham Tech Week 2021
  • Line up of speakers includes experts from Security Exports Department for International Trade, DCMS and the IoD
  • The event will be of relevance to companies, alumni, academic staff interested in cybersecurity.


The Cyber Security Innovation (CSI) Centre at Aston University will host its inaugural event during Birmingham Tech Week 2021.


The CSI Centre, established in 2020, brings together stakeholders from industry, government and leading cyber security research institutions with the aim to deliver industry-aligned research outcomes. CSI members include globally-recognised academics undertaking research projects that address real-world cyber security challenges through innovative solutions.


Cyber (In)Security, Requires a Robust Approach Through Continuous Innovation, will see a broad range of contributors taking part across the face-to-face event on 13 October. They include speakers from the UK Defence and Security Exports Department for International Trade, the Institute of the Directors (IoD), Cyber Senior Policy Lead, DCMS, Opel/Vauxhall and Professor Vladlena Benson, Director of CSI Centre.


Professor Vladlena Benson, director of the CSI at Aston Business School, said:


“I am delighted to officially launch the CSI Centre at Conference Aston during Birmingham Tech Week 2021 and am looking forward to welcoming everyone to our first face-to-face event.


“This is a wonderful opportunity to meet face-to-face with industry-leading experts, academics and start-ups. With most of the UK confined to working from home for over a year, there is no better opportunity to meet and build relationships with the people who can help business owners grow, innovate and make their companies more resilient.


“Statistics shows that UK small businesses are successfully hacked every 19 seconds2 and new certification standards coming into play for consumer IoT devices and cyber-physical access control systems. It is time to find a robust approach maximising the effectiveness of cybersecurity investment now.


“The bad guys are winning the cyber security war - the good guys need to do better. Although organisations are investing more and more in cyber security, the average number of days to detect a breach is increasing year on year, not reducing. So, we need to do something different.”


To attend the event on 13 October 2021, you can sign up HERE.

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Vladlena Benson

Vladlena Benson

Professor of Cybersecurity Management

Professor Benson is an industry-recognised expert in cybersecurity management and governance.

Emergent TechnologiesCybersecurity and Risk ManagementDigital Transformation
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