Microsoft Chief Security Advisor, Independent Board Advisor, Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker and Fellow British Computer Society.

Operating at the forefront of the cybersecurity industry, Sarah Armstrong-Smith is the Chief Security Advisor at Microsoft. She has led a long and impactful career, guiding businesses through digital attacks and teaching organisations how to protect their people and data.

Sarah’s previous positions include Group Head Business Resilience & Crisis Management at The London Stock Exchange Group and Head Continuity & Resilience, Enterprise & Cyber Security at Fujitsu. Such high-profile roles earned Sarah a place in the Most Influential Women in UK Tech and Most Influential Women in Cybersecurity.

In 2022, Sarah released her first book ‘Effective Crisis Management’ which reached number two on the Amazon Best Sellers List. With a new way to share her expertise with a large audience, her leading insight into technology and security is respected by many throughout the industry.

Sarah’s latest book ‘Understand the Cyber Attacker Mindset’ explores the psychology of cyber warfare and how organisations can defend themselves from attack. The human aspects of cybersecurity have never been more critical.

Bio coming soon

I'm an author, speaker, investigative journalist and podcast creator, with world-leading expertise on organised crime and technology. I've worked for the BBC, Audible, Penguin, Sky News, The Sunday Times and many more. In a career spanning 20 years I've covered financial crime, money laundering, cryptocurrency and the emergence of cybercrime as one of the primal threats to modern society. My podcasts have received over 10 million listens. My latest book for Penguin, Rinsed, reveals how technology has changed the money laundering industry. An accomplished public speaker, I've given more than 300 keynote talks in over a dozen countries for some of the world’s biggest brands, including Microsoft, Mastercard, HSBC, Orange and Bank of America, in addition to chairing events and appearing on panels at venues ranging from London’s Chatham House think-tank to the Latitude music festival. My previous book for Penguin, The Lazarus Heist – From Hollywood to High Finance: Inside North Korea’s Global Cyber War, sprang from the hit 10-part BBC podcast series of the same name, which I co-hosted and which immediately ranked number one in the UK Apple chart and within the top 7 in the US. My first book, Crime Dot Com: From Viruses to Vote Rigging, How Hacking Went Global, was published in August 2020 by Reaktion Books and was described as “a fascinating, often gripping read”. I've written and presented two major podcast series for Audible. The Dark Web exposed the shadow internet and has been a top ten hit on the platform since its launch in 2017. Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe? revealed the origins of AI, and shows how the technology is seeping into everyday life. My own podcast series Cybercrime Investigations takes listeners inside the world of an investigative journalist, detailing the twists and turns as the story unfolds. I was also the co-creator of The Secret Life of Your Mobile Phone, a live, interactive phone hacking stage performance. The show was a sell–out hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017, and has been performed at music festivals, political conferences and for corporate clients. As technology correspondent for Channel 4 News I won multiple awards for my work on the Snowden leaks, the hacking of Britain’s largest ISP TalkTalk and my exposés of fraud in the internet dating industry. I was the creator of the programme’s Data Baby project, a unique experiment which used a fictional online persona to expose how personal data is used – and abused – online.

Innovative and dynamic security professional, with a passion for driving change by successfully engaging with all levels of the business. Passionate about the benefits of cognitive diversity as a key ingredient of successful organisations. Team builder, driver of change, focussed on the benefits of supporting and enabling great people to deliver their best; the right processes and technology will follow. Proven strategic outlook with the ability to engage with all levels of the business to gain buy-in for innovative and effective resilience programmes. Demonstrated ability to execute on plans and materially improve organisational resilience. Security and resilience can be a key differentiator to drive sales and customer retention, not just a cost centre. Board advisor to multiple start ups, helping them to grow securely! Looking for that 1st NED role to really help an organisation succeed. Any views expressed are my own. @kevlarstrength on Instagram for mostly fitness and daddy/daughter posts :) If you need any supplements, big discounts from Reflex Nutrition via this link https://bit.ly/Kevlarstrength

IDENTITY THEFT SPEAKER As well as speaking at Conferences around the World on the subject of Fraud and Identity Theft, I also speak to staff and management about the reason for data prevention and GDPR. I have spoken at events for Gartner, McAfee, The Royal Mail, NFU Mutual, AusCert and many others: COMEDIAN / ACTOR As a Comedian I have performed at the major comedy clubs in the UK as well as entertaining audiences in other countries including; Amsterdam, South Africa, Australia and Hong Kong. I recently supported Ricky Gervais on some tour dates. As an Actor I have appeared in various TV and Radio programmes. I wrote and starred in the Radio Series Bennett Arron Worries About and Bennett Arron is JEWELSH - both of which were nominated for Celtic Media Awards. I am currently starring in the Radio 4 Sitcom ALONE. WRITER / AUTHOR I've had over 30 sitcom scripts produced on television and have written for the BAFTA winning programmes "The Slammer" and "The Graham Norton Show". I wrote over 20 episodes of Genie in The House - the highest rated programme on Nickelodeon. I have written 2 books: THE GIRL FROM THE DISCOTHEQUE which is a romantic comedy based on a true story. ("Touching, funny, page-turning" TONY PARSONS) http://tinyurl.com/ljc4eb5 and HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE IDENTITY THEFT, a memoir on the time I had my Identity stolen, lost everything and years later made a television documentary on the subject for which I was BAFTA shortlisted. PRESENTER I wrote, directed and presented the Channel 4 documentary How To Steal an Identity ("Pick of the Week" The Guardian) for which I was BAFTA shortlisted. I also presented the BBC documentary The Kosher Comedian. I was also a Presenter on the TV programme Big Brother's Little Brother and I presented my own show on BBC Three Counties Radio. QUOTES "Genuinely original and funny" The Times "Hilarious... clever wit... razor sharp" The Standard "One of the best on the circuit... a Welsh Seinfeld" The Guardian

“When I consider the magnitude of the subject which I am to bring before the House-a subject, in which the interests, not of this country, nor of Europe alone, but of the whole world, and of posterity, are involved: and when I think, at the same time, on the weakness of the advocate who has undertaken this great cause-when these reflections press upon my mind, it is impossible for me not to feel both terrified and concerned at my own inadequacy to such a task” William Wilberforce spoke these words on May 12 1789 about the abolition of the slave-trade. 240 years later there are an estimated 50 million people trapped in modern slavery all over the world. As Chief Operating Officer at Hope for Justice and Slave-Free Alliance there is an enormous job to do. I came into this position understanding the importance and value of ensuring that the “engine room” of the organisation works effectively, efficiently and is ready to pivot at any time. Working in the rescue and prevention space of modern slavery and human-trafficking brings a great deal of risk and safeguarding which need to be continuously monitored and balanced. With teams operating across 7 countries there is much to do to ensure compliance with international legislation and regulations including the important structure of our Trustee and Governance Boards. Our staff are passionate abolitionists and skilled professionals. As COO I oversee all our people-focused initiatives which we design around staff wellbeing and engagement. The work we do is difficult and emotional which is why one of our core values is ‘Honouring’ to allow us to celebrate each other and recognise the impact we are having. An estimated 27.6 million of the overall 50 million figure of those trapped in modern slavery account for ‘forced labour’. This is why we set up ‘Slave-Free Alliance’ to work with businesses to assess and mitigate their risk of slavery in supply chains. We are uniquely positioned in this space to be able to provide businesses (from the largest multi-national corporates to the smallest startups) with advice, support and help in identifying what steps they should take to reduce their risks or best respond when a victim is identified somewhere in their organisation. I came to Hope for Justice with a consistent track record of delivering large scale change and leading international teams through a range of Business, IT and Telecoms environments. I have been fortunate throughout my career to have worked in exciting businesses with some incredible people from whom I have learned great leadership qualities.

Cybersecurity leader with over 30 years experience in cybersecurity, I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in risk management and threat mitigation My interest in technology started at a young age, as a neuromancer, I was fascinated by system vulnerabilities and hacking. This led me to join the military and later work in both government and private sectors. I contributed, significantly, to protecting critical digital assets and infrastructure. As a neurodiverse professional, I leverage my unique perspective and non-linear thinking to developing innovative and interoperable solutions that are secure by design. I also enjoy sharing my insights and experience as a public speaker and as the head of technical advisory at BSides Lancashire, a community event for technical cyber specialists.