Businesses come together for Seriun Cyber Conference

Businesses from across Lancashire and the north west gathered at Burnley FC's Turf Moor on Thursday for the inaugural Seriun Cyber Conference 2026.

The event focused on helping organisations better understand today's cyber threats and strengthen their resilience against emerging risks.

Hosted by Seriun, the half day conference brought together cyber security experts, technology partners and business leaders for a programme of practical insight, real world experiences and interactive learning.

The keynote sessions covered ransomware, artificial intelligence, cyber crime, cyber compliance and the evolving threat landscape facing UK organisations.

Delegates heard from industry experts at Huntress, OpenText, the North West Cyber Resilience Centre (NWCRC) and Seriun's own cyber team. The programme also included a candid fireside conversation with Tim Barrow, managing director of Terry Lifts, who shared his organisation's experience of life after a cyber breach and the lessons learned throughout the recovery journey.

The event also featured a 'cyber in the real world' panel discussion, bringing together Tim Barrow (Terry Lifts), Wayne Fulton (Seriun), Sasha Roshan (Huntress) and Paul Benson (NWCRC) to discuss the cyber challenges facing businesses today.

Away from the main stage, delegates took part in interactive breakout sessions delivered in partnership with the North West Cyber Resilience Centre, including a cyber escape room, an AI malware session and a Lego themed cyber security game. These hands on sessions were designed to show how organisations can improve their preparedness and respond effectively in the event of a cyber incident.

Mark Edwards, operations director at Seriun, said: "Cyber security continues to be one of the most important challenges facing organisations today. Our goal was to create an event that was practical, relevant and genuinely useful for businesses, and the level of engagement throughout the day was fantastic.

"It was encouraging to see so many organisations investing time in understanding the risks they face and the steps they can take to strengthen their cyber resilience."

Wayne Fulton, head of cyber security at Seriun, said: "Cyber security is changing rapidly, with AI, ransomware and increasingly sophisticated threats creating new challenges for organisations of all sizes.

"Events like this allow businesses to hear directly from experts, ask questions and gain practical advice that they can take back into their organisations immediately."

The conference concluded with networking for attendees, speakers and partners, reinforcing the event's focus on collaboration, awareness and practical cyber security education across the region.

Following the success of the event, Seriun plans to keep supporting organisations across Lancashire and the north west with practical cyber security guidance, education and resilience focused initiatives designed to help businesses stay secure in an increasingly complex threat landscape.