Cyber security is so often discussed in deeply technical terms. While technology is at the heart of cyber security, so is human awareness, behaviour and culture.

In this session, Dr Jessica Barker highlights how human bias makes us all susceptible to online manipulation and how we can practically apply psychology, sociology, and neuroscience to understand how cyber criminals operate. These insights are especially paramount with the growth of AI, as Jessica demonstrates.

Audiences this session looking at cyber security in a different light, empowered with an understanding of how to unlock the human element of this field.

This keynote draws on Jessica's bestselling book Hacked: The Secrets Behind Cyber Attacks, published in 2024.

In this session, Jessica delves into some of the most eye-opening, jaw-dropping and action-orientated case studies from Hacked. This storytelling gets people to sit up in their seats and take a fresh look at cyber security.

She delivers all of this with humour, positivity and jargon-free key takeaways for everyone to apply. 

From ransomware to romance fraud, malware to money muling - this session will leave attendees up-to-date and inspired to practice positive cyber security behaviours.

Social engineering is involved in most 'hacks', with phishing the number one threat to organizations. In this keynote, Dr Jessica Barker explores the psychology, neuroscience and sociology of scams.

Combining this with an overview of the technological advances of recent years, this session uncovers how cyber criminals are leveraging AI to make their attacks more advanced and effective. Packed with case studies and demonstrations of how attackers are using AI in cyber crime, this powerful keynote leaves a lasting impression.

Exploring the role of AI in cyber crime now and looking ahead to the future, this jargon-free overview empowers everyone with an understanding of the technology that is dominating the headlines.

Cyber security culture eats breaches for breakfast. In this session, Dr Jessica Barker explains what this really means: what actually is security culture and why is it so important?

Jessica makes cyber security culture real: it is not something intangible but rather something that we can define, understand, measure and influence. She explains why it is the foundation to an organisation's security posture.

Participants leave this session with a greater understanding not only of what culture is, but also how they can play a part in building a positive security culture. Jessica shares practical advice to help everyone stay safe online at home as well as at work.

For too long, the cyber security industry has attempted to use fear, uncertainty and doubt to influence people and their behaviour.

This engaging keynote draws on extensive research into the sociology and psychology of fear, as well as real-world case studies. Dr Jessica Barker explains why we can't simply scare people into security, but how we can harness human bias to have a more positive impact on cyber security awareness, behaviour and culture.

Jessica presented a version of this talk as her highly-rated keynote at RSA Conference 2020 in San Francisco.