EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT...
Cyber security 43%
CIARAN MARTIN is CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the government body that helps public- and private-sector organisations to safeguard their IT systems
A
s recently as fi ve years ago, the advice that western governments were
giving businesses on cyber security was technically limited. What’s more, much of this guidance focused on telling well-governed organisations to manage risk well. What it didn’t really tell
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them was to approach cyber risk in just the same way as they would any other risk. I marvel at the effectiveness with which businesses deal with the complex array of risks facing them, from fi nancial liabilities to health and safety responsibilities. When you put it in that context, cyber risk is something they are also well
capable of managing. It’s simply a case of giving them the right tools for the task. With this in mind, the NCSC has published a Board Toolkit (
ncsc.gov.uk/index/guidance) to help directors understand the dynamics of cyber risk management. This sets out fi ve questions that all boards should ask their chief information security offi cers: How do we defend against phishing attacks? How do we control the use of privileged IT accounts? How do we keep our systems up to date? How do we ensure that our partners and suppliers protect the data we share with them? What authentication methods are being used to control access to our data? The NCSC has in fact observed more consistency than change in the types of cyber attacks that should be of concern to ordinary businesses. At a recent government event for 60 business leaders, we analysed a global assault on IT service providers and their clients that had been attributed to the Chinese state. This was a profound attack, but the Japanese authorities believe that one of its entry methods was the Melissa virus, which dates all the way back to 1999. This case highlights the critical importance of keeping your software up to date. Any modern version of Microsoft Windows would have blocked this virus. If you had been running an old version and been targeted, you might not have been so fortunate.
The National Cyber Security Centre holds its fl agship event, CyberUK, on 24-25 April. IT experts and business leaders discuss how best to protect corporate systems and data
of businesses and 20 per cent of charities in the UK suffered a cyber attack or security breach in 2017.
OVERCOMING THE FEAR FACTOR
The UK’s adoption of the EU General Data Protection Regulation last May improved people’s awareness of the importance of cyber security, but there is still progress to be made. A recent survey of British businesses by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has found that, while 74 per cent of firms view cyber security as a senior management priority, 73 per cent have yet to establish a formal policy on the matter. “People often start out scared of cyber security as an issue,” says Ciaran Martin, CEO of the NCSC. “They think it is too technical and an unmanageable risk.” The NCSC has therefore designed its Board Toolkit to help directors not only manage the risk but also overcome common anxieties in their organisations about cyber security.
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