The UK Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS) 2026 Conference, hosted at the University of Sheffield, brought together Information Systems academics and practitioners from across the UK and beyond to explore the future of intelligent technology. The event provided a dynamic platform for exchanging ideas, building collaborations, and showcasing research that addresses some of today’s most pressing digital challenges.
Challenging conventional cybersecurity thinking
Among the contributions was a paper from the Salford Business School team – Professor Marie Griffiths, Dr Yun Chen, and Dr Nafisa Usman – titled Digital Trust and Resilience for All: An Inclusive Cybersecurity Framework. Their work offered a thought-provoking perspective, challenging traditional approaches to cybersecurity by arguing that digital exclusion is not merely a social issue, but a fundamental cybersecurity risk.
While more than five billion people are now connected globally, a significant proportion of the population remains excluded from secure digital systems due to limited access, lack of formal identity, or low digital literacy. These gaps create systemic vulnerabilities, leaving underserved groups disproportionately exposed to fraud, cyber threats, and digital exploitation. Conventional cybersecurity models, which focus primarily on technical safeguards, often fail to account for these deeper human and structural challenges.
An Inclusive Cybersecurity Framework
To address this, the paper introduces an Inclusive Cybersecurity Framework built on three interconnected pillars: technological safeguards, regulatory innovation, and social inclusion.
At the heart of the framework is a critical insight inclusion is the enabler of trust and resilience. Without access, capability, and meaningful participation, even the most advanced technologies and regulatory systems cannot fully protect users or deliver secure outcomes.
Cybersecurity as a human-centred practice
Importantly, the discussion extends beyond frameworks to a broader rethinking of cybersecurity itself. As technology becomes deeply embedded in how we live, work, and interact, cybersecurity is no longer a peripheral or purely technical concern it is an integral part of everyday human life.
This shift demands that cybersecurity be recognised as a fundamental right, requiring protection that is accessible, equitable, and inclusive. In this context, cybersecurity must be understood not only as a technical discipline, but as a human-centred and socially embedded practice.
Responsible AI and emerging regulatory technologies
The presentation strongly aligned with the conference’s broader focus on responsible artificial intelligence (AI), ethics, and societal impact. It highlighted the dual nature of intelligent technologies: while AI-driven systems can enhance fraud detection and strengthen security, they can also reinforce bias and exclusion if not designed with fairness in mind.
Similarly, innovations such as regulatory technology and supervisory technology offer powerful tools for real-time oversight but risk widening inequalities where institutional capacity is uneven.
Key themes from the conference
Across the conference, several key themes emerged. Cyber risk continues to grow, yet protection remains unevenly distributed. Addressing this imbalance requires interdisciplinary collaboration that bridges technology, policy, and social systems.
Trust was consistently emphasised as the foundation of digital transformation one that must be inclusive to be effective. Ultimately, intelligent systems must be designed not only to be secure, but also equitable.
Looking ahead: inclusion as the foundation of security
With strong international participation, the conference reinforced the global nature of these challenges and the importance of shared learning. It also highlighted a broader shift in thinking: cybersecurity is no longer just a technical discipline, but a socio-technical one that must account for people, systems, and context.
As digital technologies continue to evolve, building resilient systems will depend not only on innovation, but on inclusion. Because in today’s interconnected world, one message is clear security without inclusion is not security at all.