The day that changed everything: how 7/7 set Sarah Armstrong‑Smith on her cybersecurity journey
Sarah Armstrong‑Smith’s path to becoming one of the UK’s leading cybersecurity and crisis management specialists was shaped by decades of disruption - from growing up on military bases amid the Falklands War and IRA bomb scares to starting her career during the Millennium Bug and navigating the impact of 9/11.
Sarah graduated from Coventry University in 2006 and after completing two years at EY, her career accelerated – pivoting into cyber security and spending 12 years at Fujitsu, where she became Head of Cyber Resilience, before moving on to other senior roles including Group Head of Crisis Management and Resilience at the London Stock Exchange Group and Chief Security Advisor at Microsoft.
The day that rewrote Sarah’s career
The moment that truly set the course for her future came on her first day at professional services firm EY in July 2005, when the 7/7 London bombings unfolded and immediately transformed the demands of her role as a business continuity analyst.
Those defining events pushed her from an early passion for art into frontline crisis work, ultimately leading her to postgraduate study at Coventry University and a career advising major organisations and government.
She said: “The day I joined EY was the day of the 7/7 bombings; overnight everything changed. Customers didn’t want routine continuity planning anymore - they needed crisis management, leadership and training. The world shifted and so did my career.”
Where academic learning met real‑world crisis work
With the demands on her role intensifying, Sarah realised she needed deeper, more formal expertise. Just months later she enrolled - with funding from EY - on a postgraduate course in Business Continuity Management, now part of the Emergency Management and Resilience portfolio at Coventry University, completing a blend of remote and in‑person learning alongside her full‑time role. at Coventry University, completing a blend of remote and in‑person learning alongside her full‑time role. at Coventry University, completing a blend of remote and in‑person learning alongside her full‑time role.
She said: “Studying at Coventry University enabled me to go much deeper. I was on the course with other mature students - police officers, law‑enforcement professionals and military personnel - all of us looking to take the next steps in our careers. It brought together the academic learning, the case studies and the real‑world incidents I was dealing with daily. It gave me the soft skills, confidence and capability to operate on the frontline of major incidents and I’ve been doing that ever since.”
Foundations of a crisis mindset
Her instinct for crisis work had been shaped early in life. Growing up on military bases while her father worked in psychiatry for the Royal Air Force, she experienced the impact of the Falklands War and IRA attacks on service families.
She said: “I must’ve been six or seven. We had bomb scares at school. Soldiers would check our bus with mirrors to see if anyone had put a bomb there. You know it’s not normal for a kid to see that, but it makes you acutely aware of people, reactions, fear and how quickly life can shift.”
From art to analysis: a creative mind in cyber security
After roles at Thames Water and AXA were shaped by the Millennium Bug and 9/11, she discovered a natural skillset for imagining complex scenarios, asking “what if?” and “so what”, and envisioning the bigger picture and impact - strengths she traces back to her early love of art.
She said: “I volunteered for the Millennium Bug programme without fully appreciating the gravity of the situation. I kept asking ‘What if the systems don’t work? What if staff can’t get in? What if people can’t get water?’. Someone said, ‘You know this is business continuity, right?’ and everything clicked.”
Her creative roots continue to guide how she works.
She said: “People think you have to be a techie to get into cybersecurity but you don’t. My background in art taught me big‑picture thinking and imagination - exactly what you need in resilience. This industry needs people who think differently, who ask ‘what if?’ and approach problems from new angles.”
Shaping future policy
After her roles with EY, Fujitsu, and Microsoft, Sarah struck out on her own, starting her own consultancy, Secure Horizons, has written two books and is advising the UK Government as part of the Cyber Advisory Board.
She said: “I’ve gone from huge enterprises like Microsoft to asking: what is government’s role in cyber resilience across public services, like the NHS, the Home Office, local authorities? There’s a real desire to build capability and professionalise the sector.”
The power of education and teachers
She believes universities have a crucial role in training the next generation of cyber leaders - something she experienced personally at Coventry University.
She said: “People think cyber is all AI and computer science, but resilience is also about civil contingencies - keeping hospitals running, communicating with patients, building trust. Soft skills matter. Coventry University’s course taught me scenario planning, isomorphic learning, big‑picture thinking and how to protect people in crisis.
" My tutor at Coventry University was straight‑talking and practical and she made the whole experience what it was. I really valued her perspective.”
Advice for the next generation of leaders
Sarah’s biggest piece of advice for students is to volunteer.
“Put yourself forward even when you don’t fully know what you’re volunteering for,” she said. “Some of those decisions were the best of my life. Something will spark your imagination - even roles that don’t exist yet.”
One moment that has stayed with her throughout her career was advice from the first female MI5 Director General, Dame Stella Rimington.
“Someone asked her if she’d ever had imposter syndrome. She said ‘Hell no. I deserved my place. I earned my position. And if I didn’t know something, I was damn well going to learn it’.
“It’s the best advice I’ve ever heard. Remember you earned your position, and trust in yourself and your abilities.”
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