CyBlack 2025: Cybersecurity Leaders Call for Inclusivity, Innovation, and NextGen Leaders at UK’s Premier Black Cybersecurity Conference

Amid today’s growing digital threats, the CyBlack Conference 2025 brought together some of the UK’s leading voices in cybersecurity to shape and inspire the next generation of cyber leaders

Now in its fourth year, CyBlack has become the UK’s flagship event for Black professionals and aspiring talent in cybersecurity. This year’s theme, “Empowering the NextGen Leaders”, underscored the need for inclusivity, skill development, and global collaboration as the industry faces rapid transformation.

Hosted in Preston, the one-day conference brought together industry leaders, professionals, academics, and emerging professionals for a full day of keynotes, panels, and workshops. The event was backed by major sponsors including ISC2 and CybariK Global.

On the welcome note, Simbiat Sadiq, Co-Founder of CyBlack who was also the Host of this year’s conference said ; “this year’s event champions inclusion, innovation, and leadership. We are here to uplift voices that have too often been underrepresented, to amplify bold ideas, and to forge collaborations that will shape the cybersecurity frontier for generations to come”

Opening keynote speaker Dwan Jones, Director of Inclusive Strategies and Engagement at ISC2, set the tone by stressing that “the future of cybersecurity isn’t just about technology, it’s about people.” Drawing on findings from the 2025 ISC2 Cybersecurity Hiring Trends Report, Dwan spotlighted the shifting skills landscape, with employers now prioritising AI literacy, adaptability, and leadership potential alongside technical proficiency.

In another keynote, Omorinsola Goriola, A Cybersecurity Expert, warned of the “perfect storm” of modern cyber threats, citing ransomware escalation, AI-driven attacks, and the growing attack surface of cloud ecosystems. He called for a navigator’s mindset, built on adaptability, resilience, and collaboration: “No organisation wins alone, intelligence sharing must be at the heart of our defense strategies.”

Highlighting Academia’s role in shaping leaders, Dr. Folayo Aina of the University of Central Lancashire addressed the widening talent gap, presenting how academia can bridge it through industry-aligned curricula, hands-on labs, and interdisciplinary programmes that blend cybersecurity with business, law, and healthcare. She highlighted the need for Chief Trust Officers and Business Information Security Officers as emerging leadership roles, ensuring that security is embedded at every level of organisational decision-making.

In another keynote session, Cybersecurity professional Morgan Nwaiku explored how artificial intelligence and machine learning are reshaping the field. He argued that the leaders of tomorrow must go beyond technical mastery, developing traits such as emotional intelligence, ethical decision-making, and proactive use of AI to anticipate threats rather than merely react to them.

Microsoft MVP Adedeji Awolesi and a Snr SRE Engineer / Consultant delivered practical sessions on “ Making Security a Built-in Feature” He demonstrated how developers can leverage the inbuilt features in GitHub to identify and fix vulnerabilities in their code. Adedeji demonstrated the importance of “Build once. Secure always.”

One of the most talked-about sessions came from Dr. Omotola Efuwape, Senior Security Architect and Co-Founder of CyBlack, who led an open dialogue on burnout in cybersecurity. With long hours, high stakes, and a constant state of alertness, cybersecurity professionals face unique pressures. The open session invited people to share their experience and Dr. Omotola urged organisations to adopt sustainable work practices and prioritise a good working environment while making emphasis on the role individuals need in managing burnout.

Beyond the sessions, CyBlack showcased its growth story. Dr Jude Osamor shared how the community has grown. Since its inception, the community has:

● Trained over 700 community members .
● Run 10 internship cohorts, covering six core domains from ethical hacking to cloud security.
● Supported 40+ Alumni in getting a cybersecurity role in 2025.
● Forged partnerships with Cisco, ISC2, Vivida, and AnyRUN, providing free access to training, hands-on experience and learning resources.
This year, the CyBlack SOC Academy was highlighted as a standout initiative, giving aspiring Security professionals a real-word learning experience on Security Operations .

In her closing remarks, Dr. Iretioluwa Akerele, Co-Founder of CyBlack, appreciated everyone who contributed to the success of the conference: “There is no CyBlack community without you. CyBlack is where it is today because of YOU. We thank all of you for taking out time to contribute to the success of the conference. Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”