AI security focus day 2026: call for submissions

techUK’s Cyber resilience programme is delighted to be holding our AI security focus on Thursday 1 October. This focus day will explore how businesses can keep themselves secure against the rapidly evolving developments in agentic AI, how to secure the agents that are deployed and how AI can improve cyber defences.

Securing systems against agentic AI models

2026 has been a year of rapid evolution for the cyber security sector. While industry has long anticipated both the defensive benefits and the risks associated with increasingly capable AI models, this year we have seen a real change in the speed and scale at which these vulnerabilities can now be identified. Following an announcement earlier this year that some new models have the potential to find vulnerable cyber defences at unprecedented speeds, government sent an open letter to UK business leaders warning of the risks posed by advancements in AI systems.

Though even a few months on, it is clear we are only just beginning to grasp the security risks presented by frontier and agentic models, with new breaches being announced on a regular basis. techUK members are at the forefront of these developments, working with the UK's most critical sectors to ensure they are secure against the threats posed by frontier and agentic AI.

Securing the agents we deploy

As organisations move from experimenting with agentic AI to putting them into action, a new class of risk comes with them. Agents that act at speed and scale beyond human capacity to monitor every decision raise fresh challenges: new cyber security risks such as prompt injection, agent-to-agent exploitation, manipulation and unintended actions at scale, alongside harder questions of how much autonomy is appropriate in high-impact contexts. Securing the agents we are ourselves deploying is fast becoming as pressing as defending against AI-enabled attackers, and this Impact Day will explore how organisations can deploy agentic AI safely while keeping meaningful human oversight.

AI as a tool for defensive security

Frontier and agentic AI create an opportunity to improve cyber defences. The NCSC recently announced they would be developing a blueprint to reimagine cyber security in the world of AI – Anne Keast-Butler, Director, GCHQ said at the inaugural GCHQ Annual Lecture that ‘a new national cyber defence capability will hardwire cutting-edge agentic AI into machine speed cyber defence’. techUK members provide the capabilities and resources to support government in this new world of cyber security, and this Impact Day will highlight the challenges and opportunities the UK faces as it looks to become a true world leader in AI cyber defence.

This focus day will be closely followed by techUK’s highly popular Cyber Innovation Den and Cyber Security Dinner, both happening on Tuesday 6 October. The two events will bring together the UK’s cyber security community to hear valuable insights from expert speakers, all while celebrating the brightest innovations in the sector. We look forward to seeing you there.

Jill Broom

Head of Cyber Resilience, techUK

Annie Collings

Senior Programme Manager, Cyber Resilience, techUK

Olivia Staples

Junior Programme Manager - Cyber Resilience, techUK

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techUK brings together key players across the cyber security sector to promote leading-edge UK capabilities, build networks and grow the sector. techUK members have the opportunity to network, share ideas and collaborate, enabling the industry as a whole to address common challenges and opportunities together. Visit the programme page here.

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