NCSC Software Security Strategy: the approach to realise real-world impact at scale

Ollie Whitehouse

NCSC CTO

Ollie’s career in cyber security has spanned more than 27 years prior to becoming the NCSC's Chief Technology Officer in late 2023. He has held senior science and technology…

Becoming a Software-Aware Client: Lessons from other projects and the HS2 Approach

As infrastructure systems become increasingly dependent on software, the challenges of delivering major programmes are changing fundamentally. The success of modern railways is no longer determined solely by the quality of physical assets, but by the integration of software-intensive systems, data flows, communications networks and operational technologies.

Drawing on lessons from high-profile projects, I will examine why software-related issues continue to be a key contributor to cost overruns, delays and integration challenges. I will explore why many programme failures commonly attributed to software are also rooted in governance, visibility and the client's ability to understand and manage software risk.

Gianpiero Colasante

Lead Software Integration Manager, HS2 Ltd

Gianpiero Colasante is the Lead Software Integration Manager at HS2 Ltd, where he is responsible for defining and overseeing the strategy, planning, and governance for software…

AI and the Agnogenic Test Engineer

With more than four decades of defence engineering experience, including regulatory software assurance for platforms such as the F-35 Lightning II and contributions to MOD policy development, including JSP 936, Dependable Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Defence Applications, Dstl Principal Advisor for Autonomy and AI Safety Engineering Dr Alec Banks examines a critical dimension of testing in the age of AI.

As AI increasingly participates across the engineering lifecycle, including development, testing, orchestration, and decision support, new assurance challenges emerge that extend beyond traditional software safety concerns. Building on the concept of agnogenesis, this presentation explores how testing activities can inadvertently reduce understanding while increasing confidence.

Alec Banks

Senior Principal Scientist, Dstl

Alec works as a Principal Advisor for Autonomous Systems and AI Safety Engineering at the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).  In 2026…