Intimate event explores how AI is changing trust, decision making and the threat landscape
KnowBe4, the leader in digital workforce security, securing both AI agents and humans, today announced it will host an exclusive breakfast briefing on 1st October as part of Leeds Digital Festival 2026. The event brings together cybersecurity and business leaders from across Yorkshire and the North of England to examine one of the defining security questions of the AI era: who, and what, can organisations trust?
Taking place at KnowBe4’s Leeds office, CyberSecure Leeds: Who Do You Trust Now? Human Judgement in the Age of AI will be limited to just 30 attendees, with CISOs, IT leaders, security practitioners and business decision makers encouraged to register early to secure a place.
The briefing marks the start of Cybersecurity Awareness Month and forms part of Leeds Digital Festival 2026, which returns from 21st September to 2nd October with more than 200 free technology events taking place across the region.
As AI becomes embedded into everyday business processes, organisations now operate with a workforce consisting of humans and AI agents. Both can influence decisions, access information and interact with business systems, creating new questions around trust, oversight and security.
The morning’s keynote will see Javvad Malik, lead CISO advisor at KnowBe4, reveal the results of an unusual real-world experiment that began with a disputed parking ticket. In “The Parking Ticket, The Paperwork, and the AI that Said ‘Yes’”, Malik will demonstrate how, in less than 48 hours, AI could be used to help create credible documentation and a digital presence that automated systems treated as legitimate. The experiment raises a much bigger question for businesses: what happens when AI systems reinforce questionable assumptions rather than challenge them?
Malik will explore how these same mechanics could translate into enterprise risk as organisations increasingly incorporate AI into workflows, approvals and decision making, and why human judgement remains critical as people begin working alongside autonomous systems.
“AI is rapidly becoming part of how organisations decide what is real, what is legitimate and what should be trusted,” said Malik. “The problem is that AI can be extremely convincing without necessarily being right. As organisations give these systems greater influence over business processes, we need to think carefully about where human judgement fits and how attackers could exploit that trust. The workforce is now a combination of people and AI agents, and our approach to security has to reflect that reality.”
Following Malik’s session, James Dyer, head of threat intelligence at KnowBe4, will provide a briefing on the latest phishing threat landscape, examining how AI-generated content, phishing-as-a-service and multi-channel social engineering are changing attacker tactics. Dyer will explore why phishing can no longer be viewed purely as an email problem, how attackers are adapting to security controls, and what organisations can do to better prepare their workforce for emerging social engineering techniques.
The event will begin with breakfast and networking from 8:30am and conclude at 11:00am, with opportunities throughout the morning for attendees to meet fellow business, security and technology leaders and discuss the challenges facing organisations across the region.
Places are strictly limited to 30 attendees. Register your attendance in advance, here.
Event details
CyberSecure Leeds: Who Do You Trust Now? Human Judgement in the Age of AI
Date: 1st October 2026
Time: 8:30am – 11:00am
Venue: KnowBe4 Leeds Office, 1 Leeds City Office Park, Meadow Lane, Leeds, LS11 5BD
Registration: https://web.cvent.com/event/96b273cf-5129-4734-b54c-0dfd0a38aa61/summary
Agenda
08:30 – 09:00: Breakfast and networking
09:00 – 09:10: Welcome from KnowBe4
09:10 – 09:55: The Parking Ticket, The Paperwork, and the AI that Said “Yes” – Javvad Malik, lead CISO advisor, KnowBe4
09:55 – 10:10: Coffee and networking
10:10 – 10:50: Threat Intelligence Update: Understanding Today’s Phishing Landscape – James Dyer, head of threat intelligence, KnowBe4
10:50 – 11:00: Closing remarks and networking
Register for one of the 30 available places here.
FAQs
Q: What is CyberSecure Leeds: Who Do You Trust Now?
CyberSecure Leeds: Who Do You Trust Now? Human Judgement in the Age of AI is an exclusive, invite-only breakfast briefing hosted by KnowBe4. The event explores how artificial intelligence is altering corporate trust, executive decision-making, and the modern phishing threat landscape.
Q: When and where is the KnowBe4 Leeds Digital Festival event taking place?
The event takes place on 1st October 2026, from 8:30 am to 11:00 am BST at the KnowBe4 Leeds Office. It serves as a flagship kickoff for Cybersecurity Awareness Month and is part of the official Leeds Digital Festival 2026 program.
Q: Who should attend KnowBe4’s CyberSecure Leeds event?
The event is tailored for CISOs, IT directors, security practitioners, risk managers, and business decision-makers across Yorkshire and the North of England. Attendance is strictly limited to 30 attendees to ensure an intimate setting for networking and strategic discussion.
Q: How do attendees register for the KnowBe4 Leeds Digital Festival event? Registration is free but requires advance signup due to the 30-seat limit. Attendees can register online here.
Q: What is KnowBe4 and who is it for?
KnowBe4 is a cybersecurity company focused on securing the digital workforce, securing both humans and AI agents through a single platform spanning attack simulation and training, email and collaboration security, and agent security, all powered by AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Defense Agents) and a proprietary Risk Score built from 316 unique indicators. Founded in 2010, KnowBe4 has been delivering AI-powered security since 2016, backed by 50+ patents, 70+ deep integrations, and 15+ years of behavioural data, and is trusted by more than 70,000 organisations worldwide, having trained over 100 million people, which includes 1 in 3 full-time workers in the U.S. The company is for CISOs and Compliance leaders who need visibility, automation, and metrics that speak to the board, SOC teams needing automation that cuts through alert noise, and security awareness admins who need to measure and change behaviour.