Successful Launch of GRIIT During the CyberDIVA Conference

GRIIT Group
Mar 2
2 min read

25 February 2026 | Conference Aston, Aston Business School, Birmingham

GRIIT was formally launched during the CyberDIVA Conference on 25 February 2026 at Aston Business School in Birmingham.

The launch took place within a national convening focused on addressing gender-based abuse across both visible and encrypted digital environments — a growing challenge within cybersecurity, digital governance and online safety policy.

Addressing Online Harms in Open and Hidden Digital Spaces

CyberDIVA (Dark Web Investigation of Violence & Abuse) builds on previous work examining cyber violence against women and girls. This year’s conference extended that focus to consider how abuse is facilitated not only on mainstream platforms, but also within hidden and encrypted online environments.

Discussions highlighted:

The scale and societal cost of online harms in the UK
The investigative complexity of encrypted digital spaces
Gaps in coordinated operational response
The need for stronger cross-sector collaboration in cybersecurity governance

The evidence presented reinforced a clear message: digital safety requires structured, institutional alignment across sectors.

Cross-Sector Expertise in Practice

The conference convened professionals working at the intersection of cybersecurity, safeguarding and public policy, including:

Law enforcement and the Regional Cyber Crime Unit – West Midlands
Local government and city leadership
Researchers and academic specialists
Digital forensics experts
Industry and threat intelligence professionals
Civil society organisations supporting victims of online abuse

The programme combined keynote addresses, a policy roundtable, and an immersive cyber challenge designed to explore operational realities in investigating technology-facilitated abuse.

Keynote Speakers and Policy Contributors

Keynote contributions were delivered by:

Andrew Briercliffe

who addressed the operational realities of online harms, drawing on experience across law enforcement, digital platforms and threat intelligence.

Amit Singh Kalley

who examined digital culture, online visibility, and safeguarding responsibilities in an increasingly connected environment.

The cross-sector policy roundtable included contributions from:

Revinder Johal (Birmingham City Council)
Wayne Horkan (Cyber Tzar)
Roshni Birmingham
Neil Howells (Regional Cyber Crime Unit – West Midlands)

Together, these contributions reflected the breadth of expertise required to respond effectively to cyber violence and digital abuse.

Why the Launch of GRIIT Matters

The CyberDIVA Conference provided a fitting context for the launch of GRIIT.

GRIIT has been established as a cross-sector network advancing gender-equitable and responsible innovation in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and digital systems.

Its purpose is to strengthen coordination between research, policy, operational practice and industry — ensuring that evidence informs governance, and governance informs implementation.

The discussions in Birmingham underscored the importance of this alignment.

Isolated interventions are insufficient. Sustainable digital safety requires collaborative, system-level response.