The fourth annual Security Serious Week, from 1 October 2018, will kick off with a gathering of representatives from industry and government in London to share their cyber security tips.

The “flash mob” event will take place outside Tower Hill tube station at 12.30pm and will be followed by a picnic in the park, sponsored by email and data security company Mimecast.

Security Serious Week, which coincides with European Cyber Security Awareness Month, is dedicated to events put on by cyber security experts to encourage others to take cyber security more seriously. Started by Eskenzi PR, the initiative aims to bring together UK industry to promote increased vigilance about cyber security.

Michael Madon, senior vice-president and general manager, security awareness at Mimecast, said Security Serious Week elevates the importance of the security challenges faced by UK businesses every day.

“As an industry, we need to give employees a compelling reason to care about security and become more resilient against preventable threats,” he said. “Finding creative ways to offer security training guidance can help drive home the importance of identifying risks and making sound judgements.”

To show their support, participating company representatives, including CISOs, CEOs and security specialists, will display banners with their short, sharp tips, printed by Canon, to create a human collage of security advice on how businesses can be smarter about cyber security.

“Canon is extremely proud to support Security Serious Week for a third year,” said Quentyn Taylor, director of information security at Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa.

“The security industry often lacks the creativity to get the message out to the masses and this flash mob is an excellent way to make the cause more visual and bring together representatives from all kinds of companies operating in the UK.”

Anyone can apply to take part in the flash mob event by emailing their best security tip in no more than 10 words and contact details to the event organisers.

Security Serious Week features a series of webcasts on security-related topics from 1 October and includes the third annual Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards on 3 October to honour the UK’s IT security heroes who work tirelessly to defend networks from attack and highlight the cyber pitfalls to educate the public.

“The Unsung Heroes awards are about unearthing new talent and thanking all those incredible IT security professionals who work tirelessly behind the scenes doing great work,” said Yvonne Eskenzi, director of Eskenzi PR. “We also want to encourage new talent into the industry and show them how rewarding a career in cyber security can be.”