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Tickets

CYBER SECURITY

26.09.25

About the conference

DISH, ManchesteR

08:30 Registration | 5pm Evening Social

As digital systems evolve at lightning speed, the threats surrounding them grow just as fast. That’s why our Cyber Security Conference is built specifically for practitioners working deep in the field—engineers, analysts, and technologists safeguarding infrastructure every day. This is a space for technical minds to connect, learn, and get hands-on with the latest innovations. Hear directly from professionals who are leading advancements in cyber defence, tackling today’s challenges with tomorrow’s tools. Join us at Manchester’s Digital Security Hub—the centre of the city’s cyber ecosystem—for a day of serious knowledge sharing and practical insight.

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SPONSORED BY
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What to expect

Our Cyber Security conference is aimed at tech professionals working in the cyber space.

Across the day, we’ll hear from six expert speakers diving into real-world issues around security, threat detection, and cyber ethics—sharing what they’ve learned from working on the front lines of the industry. We’ll also host two engaging panel discussions designed to open up the conversation, giving delegates a chance to pose questions, challenge ideas, and contribute to the wider dialogue.

Our practical workshops are built for techies who learn by doing. Dive deeper into specific topics, collaborate with peers facing similar challenges, and walk away with actionable insights you can apply in your day-to-day work. It’s about more than theory—it’s about solving real problems, together.

Round off the day with our informal evening social—a chance to connect with fellow delegates and speakers, swap stories, and get those burning questions answered. Whether you’re looking to expand your network, explore new ideas, or spark career opportunities, it’s the perfect way to keep the conversation going.

New for 2025! The MTF event app is a virtual environment which puts you in the centre of the festival! Log on, explore sessions and choose your own agenda. Plus! Interact with other guests, access pre-conference content, pose questions to our speakers and more! The best part? You get access to the app for upto 6 months after the festival where all of our talks will be posted so you don’t need to worry about missing a thing! 

SPEAKERS

Discover this years speaker bio’s by clicking the images below!

Amy Newton Headshot

Amy Newton

Festival Director
MTF

Nafiseh Taghavi

Specialist Intelligence Analyst
Resolver (a Kroll Business)

Daniel Prince-Llewellyn

Director of Technology
CreateFuture

Woah there! We’re still firming up the lineup for this years festival! Make sure you join our newsletter to be the first in the know as we announce our speakers! 

If you are an expert on Cyber Security and feel you have something to say – why not apply to speak at this years event? There’s still time to get your application down – just visit our speaking page – go on you know you want to!

Discover this years speaker bio’s by clicking the images below!

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AGENDA

We’re still busy pulling together this year’s agenda, so check out the talks below and sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear when new talks go live! 

Nafiseh Taghavi
Specialist intelligence analyst
Resolver (a Kroll Business)

 

SESSION OVERVIEW:

My talk will uncover the tech-driven methods we use to detect exploitation, analyse digital behaviour and collaborate with platforms to protect vulnerable users, especially children.
 
This session is aimed at technologists, data professionals, content safety teams and anyone curious about how tech can be used for social impact. I want to give the audience a rare look into the intelligence and tooling behind keeping the internet safer, with a focus on real-world applications of behavioural analysis, AI moderation and data-led investigations.
 
The talk will begin with a clear explanation of the digital threats we face today across mainstream platforms, from social media and messaging apps to adult subscription sites. I’ll introduce three main categories of predatory behaviour we investigate.
 
  • First, CSAM, or Child Sexual Abuse Material.
  • Second, COITP, or Content of Interest to Predators.
  • Third, grooming.
 
The central part of the talk is how we use digital intelligence and behavioural patterns to identify bad actors. I’ll walk through real methodologies and explain how seemingly small details like an emoji, a hashtag or an oddly cropped image can lead to the unmasking of entire abuse networks. I’ll discuss how predators operate in clusters, share evasion tactics and exploit algorithmic gaps. Understanding these behaviours helps us shape safer platforms.
 
This work sits at the crossroads of human intelligence, data science and ethics. It’s not just about technology. It’s about designing systems that understand behaviour and context. I’ll also share insights into how we feed intelligence back into trust and safety teams and machine learning models, improving the way platforms detect and remove harmful content automatically.
 
To bring the audience into the work, I’ll include an interactive segment. A short investigation game where attendees can examine real-world inspired examples and try to spot the clues we use in digital investigations. It’s a way to connect the abstract to the real and to show how technical curiosity can support public safety.
 
I’ll close the talk by reflecting on collaboration across industry, law enforcement and tech teams. No single tool or team can solve this alone. But when data, platforms and human insight come together, we can have real impact.
 
This talk is for anyone who believes tech should be used to solve meaningful problems. It’s about ethical innovation, applied intelligence and the power of technology to make the online world safer for everyone.

Purchase your pass

Tickets for our Cyber Security Conference are £26 each and include admission to the day conference at DiSH MCR and the evening social. Ticket prices also includes refreshments & lunch plus access to the MTF event app for 2 months prior to the festival and 6 months after.

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AFTER PARTY

DiSH MCR, Heron House

Our evening social offers the perfect setting to forge new connections, exchange insights, and build valuable relationships within the tech community. 

With a vibrant atmosphere, delicious refreshments, and opportunities to engage with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and like-minded enthusiasts, this evening social is the ideal platform to relax, unwind, and expand your professional network.

 

JOIN OR SPONSOR COMMUNITY

From an exhibition stand at our core conference to sponsorship of one of our mid-year events, MTF offers businesses of all sizes an opportunity to join together and engage with the Manchester Tech Ecosystem. 

From boosting brand awareness to securing your next big hire, our sponsorship packages offer a year of benefits designed to hit your business goals, regardless of your priorities!

Enquiry today or explore the different opportunities for MTF 2026

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I’ve never seen a conference with such a high level of visible diversity and inclusion, and I’ve never seem so many delegates that were positively BUZZING from all of the inspirational talks and stories. What a brilliant, brilliant day.

Thank you to all the organisers, I can’t wait for next year!
Paul O'Donnell
Attendee
So many ‘WIT’ events focus on how women need to lean in. They are all focused on how women need to change. My biggest takeaway from today is that we need to talk more about changing the system. Not about changing women in under-represented groups. Honestly the best conference I’ve been to for a long time.
Holly Donohue
Attendee
The unfiltered requirement did not miss. Each speaker brought their authentic selves to that stage and very moving stories. Thank you all for your honesty and openness. Thank you for the most inclusive agenda I’ve seen.

You understood that representation would matter, and rose to the challenge!
Natalie Navickas
Attendee

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HoldSpeaker_1

Nafiseh
Taghavi

Linkedin

ABOUT

Specialist Intelligence Analyst, Resolver (a Kroll Business)
I’m an intelligence analyst with over seven years of experience in online safety, currently working at Resolver. My role centres around monitoring and analysing a wide range of digital threats and harmful behaviours across social media platforms, messaging apps, and online forums. I work closely with major tech companies and digital platforms to help them understand complex safety challenges, improve user protections, and respond more effectively to emerging risks.

 

What sets my work apart is the direct exposure I have to high-risk and sensitive content on a daily basis. I engage with material and behaviours that often never make it into public view: content that’s removed quickly, trends that surface briefly before disappearing, and techniques used to evade detection. I work with content in various formats, languages, and cultural contexts, which gives me a global view of how online harm operates and shifts over time.

 

Much of my work involves spotting patterns across platforms. I help clients understand how certain behaviours move from one environment to another, and how design, algorithmic systems, and platform features can unintentionally create space for abuse. Because I work across a broad range of digital services, I’ve developed a strong sense of how different types of platforms face different challenges depending on their user base, their functionality, and their moderation capabilities.

 

At Resolver, we collaborate directly with trust and safety teams from some of the world’s biggest tech companies. This gives me insight into what’s working behind the scenes and where there are still critical gaps. I understand how moderation systems are built and tested, how platforms try to balance safety with user privacy and freedom of expression, and how algorithms influence what gets seen, flagged, or ignored.