Black Hat is an internationally recognised cyber security event that provides security professionals with training and briefings about the latest information security risks, research, and trends. For the second year, IASME has been delighted to partner with Black Hat and once again, the cyber security event offered support and education to our trainees within the Neurodivergent Cyber Security Training Program run in partnership with the UK Cyber Security Forum. Thanks to the generosity of Black Hat, 18 of our trainees were able to attend Black Hat Europe 2022 in London.
Trainees from the two cohorts of training programmes run in 2022 were awarded scholarship tickets and had the choice of whether to attend the in- person event at the Excel in London on the 7th and 8th December, or the virtual online event available from 14th December.
For some of the trainees, the trip down to London on the train was a new adventure, but attending an international conference as a group and feeling part of a wider cyber security community was an incredible experience for everyone. One of the trainees commented “I felt so welcomed by the cyber security community at the conference, I felt as though I belonged and I couldn’t believe how much I learnt in the two days I was there as a result”.
Former trainees from the scheme and now IASME’s Security Engineer, Jess Burden and Chief
Knowledge Officer, Jonathan Ellwood gave a briefing in one of the business hall theatres titled “An inside view: The Neurodiverse Experience in Cyber”. It was an excellent and informative talk about their career pathway and provoked discussions with members ofthe audience about their own experiences.
IASME also had a stand in the business hall, where other attendees could come and chat to us about our Community Projects and plans for the future.
The whole experience was invaluable and the trainees described the few days as “phenomenal” and “amazing”, with one saying, “it was the best event I’ve ever been to” and another saying, “I have never met so many inspirational people in one place”.