BSides Manchester Hits Back at Sponsor Influence Claims

The organizers of BSides Manchester have hit back at accusations of corporate influence by a sponsor. 

In a series of tweets, degenerateDaE highlighted the number of talks being given by employees of NCC Group, and noted that the company is also the platinum sponsor. “Out of the six organizers listed I was able to confirm at least 5/6 worked at NCC when BSides Manchester was created in 2014,” they said, pointing out that at least three still work for NCC Group.

“Figured I'd tweet about this because the link between NCC and BSides Manchester was not one that I was personally aware of, nor have I seen anyone else talk about this. It would be great to get some transpancy on this from the BSides Manchester team.”

Responding, BSides Manchester organizing committee member Matt Summers posted a statement calling the accusation “incredibly hurtful and makes us as organizers question why we do this.”

He clarified that “BSides Manchester is directed by three directors (board members) and listed as a Community Interest Company (CIC) which means that it is a not-for-profit and regulated as such.”

He went on to say that there are other directors who are not board members but who have helped organize the conference – some of whom are or have been directly employed by NCC Group. “However a few people who have remained in the shadows and who were not outed by this individual have never been employed by NCC Group. ..

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