New UK cybersecurity centre plays hard to get
The new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has been unveiled in the UK – and will work with the Bank of England (BoE) to produce advice for the financial sector for managing cybersecurity effectively.
The NCSC is based in London and part of the intelligence agency GCHQ (government communications headquarters). Ciaran Martin, formerly director general cyber at GCHQ, is the NCSC’s first chief executive.
Martin says it wants to “make the UK the hardest target”.
During the last three months, there were 188 attacks classed by the NCSC as category two or three. As an example, category one would equate to the theft of confidential details of millions of Americans from the US Office of Personnel Management.
Martin adds: “We have had significant losses of personal data, significant intrusions by hostile state actors, significant reconnaissance against critical national infrastructure – and our job is to make sure we deal with it in the most effective way possible.”
The centre is one element of the government’s £1.9 billion strategy to address cyber threats and it will bring the UK’s cyber expertise together. It wants to be the “authoritative voice on information security in the UK” – such as “informing the entire business community and public sector about emerging threats, providing support when attacks happen and educating everyone on how best to stay safe online”.
By the way, Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the NCSC today (14 February) and was accompanied by her husband Prince Philip (aka the gaffe-meister general). We’ll let you know how many people he insulted later.
