Joe Wells

CyberHerd Ltd is a Welsh educational technology company focused on making cybersecurity and digital skills accessible to young people and beginners. Our flagship project, CyberHerd, uses games, storytelling and memorable characters to teach children about online safety, scams, passwords, privacy and digital wellbeing. Our free resources have been accessed from over 96 countries. We've also developed CyberHerd: Starscape Academy, an offline educational iPad app supporting 13 languages, alongside CyberScene, an interactive learning platform that introduces beginners to cybersecurity and technical systems through immersive challenges. What makes our approach different is our commitment to accessibility, practical learning and reducing barriers. Learners shouldn't need expensive equipment, specialist knowledge or complicated accounts just to get started. Beyond the technology, I've built relationships with communities and organisations internationally, where our educational resources have been used in workshops across multiple continents. Our goal isn't simply to create software. It's to give more people the confidence, knowledge and opportunity to understand.

CyberHerd is currently a one-person company, with me responsible for much of the design, development, educational content, testing and day-to-day operations. However, the work has never been entirely about one person. I've been fortunate to build relationships with educators, cybersecurity professionals, volunteers and community organisations in Wales and internationally. These connections have helped bring educational resources into schools, workshops and communities that I could never reach alone. Working with people across different countries and cultures has reinforced something important: the challenges surrounding digital safety and access to technology are shared around the world, but the ways communities support their learners can be very different. I'm particularly proud that others have seen value in the tools I've created and chosen to use them to support their own communities. While these collaborators aren't employees of CyberHerd, their contribution to the wider mission is important. It's that spirit of collaboration I hope to build on as the company grows.

A few years ago, I couldn't have imagined being in this position. After an injury left me out of work, I found myself having to rebuild my career. I didn't come from a traditional cybersecurity background, and returning to education was a major turning point. I studied Applied Cyber Security at the University of South Wales, graduating with First-Class Honours in 2025. Along the way, I became involved with CyberFirst Wales and Cyber Wales, helping create opportunities for learners to connect with industry professionals, develop skills and explore careers in technology. I began to realise that much of cybersecurity education was difficult to access, especially for younger learners and people with little technical experience. I wanted to change that. That idea grew into CyberHerd, and eventually CyberHerd Ltd in 2025. Since then, I've independently built educational games, free learning resources, an iPad app and CyberScene, a platform designed to make technical education more immersive and accessible. It hasn't been an easy journey. I've faced funding rejections, financial challenges and the realities of building a company largely on my own. But there have also been remarkable moments. Being recognised as a CyberFirst Outstanding Ambassador, becoming a National Cyber Awards finalist and seeing CyberHerd accessed from over 96 countries have meant a great deal. Perhaps most rewarding has been building relationships with international communities that have taken my technology and used it in their own educational workshops. Something I started building in Wales is now helping support learning far beyond where it began. There's still a long way to go, but I'm proud of what's been achieved without a large team or significant funding.