Some 200 business people, investors, policymakers, and academics from across the UK came together last week at the Lancashire Cyber Festival. Following a 2023 inaugural event, attendees discussed Lancashire becoming a global leader in cyber-enabled defence and security.
Produced by the Lancashire Cyber Partnership (LCP), a collaboration between the defence firm BAE Systems, Lancashire County Council, Lancaster University, the National Cyber Force (NCF), and the University of Lancashire, the festival was hosted at Lancaster University.
Across two days, the event highlighted the countyโs growing cyber ecosystem and the role it will play in a UK โwhole of societyโ approach to national security, as outlined in the recently published Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The Governmentโs recent Spending Review (SR) pledged to increase national defence spending and committed to making defence an โengine of UK growthโ. The event heard that both these Government announcements could offer competitive advantages to Lancashire, especially in areas such as combat aircraft, AI and cyber security, autonomous vehicles, and expanded defence research & development.
Nick Miles, the National Cyber Forceโs Deputy Director for Samlesbury, outside Preston, said: โThe recent Strategic Defence Review has clearly stated what a vital role regional innovation ecosystems like Lancashireโs have to play in strengthening national defence and security, by fostering local-national partnerships, and building critical mass in key technologies such as cyber. This yearโs Cyber Festival has further demonstrated how our best in class collaboration between industry, academia, and government, is setting the stage for significant inward investment and growth across the wider North West.
โAs the NCF prepares to open our Samlesbury headquarters, we are excited to be at the forefront of this once in a generation opportunity for the region.โ
Lancashire was named in the Governmentโs new Industrial Strategy as one of the UK’s hubs of cyber security excellence – alongside a commitment to making cyber one of the countryโs most important โfrontier technologiesโ. The festival looked at what the county can do. An international investor and entrepreneur, Nicole Junkermann, led a discussion around how the county can use national government investment to unlock more private sector growth.
She said: โTodayโs event made it clear: Lancashire has everything it needs to become a national centre of gravity for cyber innovation – not just the physical assets, but the ambition to turn them into long-term impact. Whatโs needed now is coordination, capital, and the confidence to scale whatโs already happening on the ground.โ
How cyber can support both the countyโs broader economic priorities and the Governmentโs Industrial Strategy aspirations was a subject unpacked by Mo Isap, Chair of the Lancashire County Combined Authorityโs (LCCA) Business Board. He said: โThe LCCAโs Growth Plan puts security, nuclear and digital as Lancashireโs primary economic drivers. Cyber, as a cross-cutting enabler, is essential to the success of all three, and an area where we can develop a genuine competitive edge.
“As highlighted in the Industrial Strategy, Lancashire is also the UKโs cyber county, and we will lead on delivering our nationโs long term security on behalf of government. The Lancashire Cyber Festival has given us the opportunity to show that we not only have the capabilities and capacity to fulfil this role, but that we have the ambition to go much further.”
Pictured at the event left to right are Mo Isap, Nick Miles and Annette Weekes representing the North West Regional Defence and Security Cluster.
The North West working together to make the most of cyber-led investment was another topic. The North West Cyber Corridor is a cluster of cyber businesses, government agencies, digital innovation hubs, and critical infrastructure providers; as explored in a discussion panel chaired by Victoria Knight, Strategic Engagement and Integrated Operations Director from BAE Systems. A keynote presentation by Dr Phil Budden of MIT, on innovation and entrepreneurship, pointed to how Lancashire has the potential to develop an integrated, innovative ecosystem which could help the North West Cyber Corridor become a global exemplar.
Research from Lancaster University presented at the festival suggested that the number of cyber security companies based in the North West rose from 300 to 350 in 2025, representing a tenth of all UK cyber activity. The figures also reported that near half, 49pc of all UK external cyber security investment was secured by the North West in 2024.
