Cyber security comment, on the record, at short notice
I explain cybercrime in plain English, on camera or down the line, without the jargon. Breaking breach, a new scam, a fraud trend, or a story that needs someone who can demonstrate the attack rather than just describe it.
Available for comment on
- Email scams, phishing and impersonation fraud
- Conveyancing and property fraud, including Friday afternoon fraud
- Ransomware and business disruption
- Password security, data breaches and identity theft
- Scams targeting students, older people and small businesses
- AI-driven attacks: deepfake voice, AI-written phishing
- What a small business is actually supposed to do about any of it
Why producers call
I can demonstrate it, live
I send someone an email that appears to come from their own address and it lands in their main inbox, not junk. It works on camera, and it changes how an audience listens.
500+ talks since 2020
From five-minute conference slots to four-hour training sessions, plus seven cyber security panels. I am used to a clock and a brief.
Plain English
No acronyms unless someone asks for them.
Fast
Same-day comment, and I will tell you straight away if a story isn’t mine rather than waste your afternoon.
Recent coverage
Francis West, quoted in Leeds Live and Chronicle Live, 5 September 2026.
“Impersonation is rising fast and it’s easier than most people think. I demo this live at talks all the time. I send someone a test email that looks like it’s from their own address and it lands straight in their main inbox, not junk. People are genuinely shocked.”
Also quoted on the case itself: a friend’s nephew lost £47,000 when his conveyancer’s email was impersonated and the deposit account was switched. Neither the bank nor the firm accepted responsibility.
“Email is at the centre of so much of our personal and professional lives, which makes it incredibly valuable to criminals. If somebody compromises your email, the damage doesn’t necessarily stop with that account.”
“Only around 9% to 10% of UK businesses have their email locked down strongly enough to stop impersonation outright.”
“Impersonation is rising fast and it’s easier than most people think… People are genuinely shocked.”
“These scams are genuinely dangerous, not just annoying – with £2.6 billion landing in student accounts this September, fraudsters know exactly when to strike, and a text claiming your payment is ‘blocked’ arrives at the one moment a stressed student is most likely to react without thinking.”
“The single most reliable check is this – the Student Loans Company will never ask you to confirm your bank details or click a link to ‘unblock’ a payment, by text, email or phone.”
Podcasts and interviews
I joined Jimmy Huber on the InfoTech Podcast to talk about the small, practical habits that keep a business safe, from what’s hiding in your sent items to why WhatsApp isn’t as secure as people think.
Short bio, free to use
Francis West is a UK cyber security speaker and ethical hacker who demonstrates live, on stage and on camera, how businesses and families are actually attacked.
Francis West is a UK cyber security speaker and ethical hacker. He has delivered more than 500 talks since 2020 and sat on seven cyber security panels, and he founded Security Everywhere. He is known for live demonstrations of real attacks, and for explaining cybercrime without jargon. His tagline is “Scaring is Caring.”
Francis West is a UK cyber security speaker, ethical hacker and founder of Security Everywhere. He has delivered more than 500 talks since 2020, from five-minute conference slots to four-hour training sessions, and has sat on seven cyber security panels. He has spoken at Propertymark events every year since 2020. He is best known for demonstrating attacks live rather than describing them, including sending an audience member an email that appears to come from their own address. His first mission, to educate and protect a million people, completed in October 2025. He is now working on protecting a million businesses.
If it's breaking, call. Email is fine for anything with a day on it.
Email: francis.w@security-everywhere.com
Phone: +44 787 255 2555
Based: UK, available for London studios and remote