One of the primary activities of our nine regional cyber resilience centres is community engagement, where the centre’s representatives meet with business owners and charities in their respective communities to discuss the services they provide and the need for greater cyber resilience. Business networking is, therefore, an essential task in spreading the word and extending the reach of each centre.
However, it is not the only type of networking helping the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group (NCRCG) and the CRC network raise awareness; participation at national cyber events is an increasingly important element in highlighting our work. While building relationships with local businesses is a primary objective, it is also essential to be visible and participate in the broader cyber community.
We are delighted to report that two CRC directors actively participated in the recent Infosecurity Europe (InfoSec24) event at ExCel London, a nearby coinciding event, CyberSync24, where they helped to raise awareness of the CRC network and NCRCG.
Paul Peters, Director at the Cyber Resilience Centre for Wales, joined an impressive panel on the Keynote Stage at Infosecurity Europe that included Jon Davies, Senior Director – Cyber Defense, News Corp; Gareth Bateman, UK Cyber – Growth Leader, Marsh, and James Coker –
Deputy Editor, Infosecurity Magazine. The title of the panel discussion was ‘Ransomware – Time to Decide – Will You or Won’t You Pay?‘
Ransomware payments exceeded $1 billion in 2023*, and the debate centred around whether paying ransomware demands should be illegal. During the session, attendees heard arguments for and against paying ransom fines, the panel’s thoughts on whether or not governments are likely to step in and legislate, case studies exploring previous attacks and how they were resolved, and some discussion around ransomware payments being non-tax deductible.
As you can imagine, it was an insightful session with a variety of views expressed, which created much food for thought among the audience. Speaking about the session, Paul Peters said: “I was delighted to take part in the panel discussion and hear the range of views on such a vital topic expressed by some very knowledgeable and experienced people. I think the whole session was thought-provoking and certainly helped to raise awareness of the need to have a policy in place in the event of a ransomware attack.
“I was pleased to be able to represent The Cyber Resilience Centre for Wales and the other centres in the network, as well as the work we are doing at a national level through the NCRCG. I believe it is important to be cementing relationships within the cyber community as well as within our respective business communities.”
Paul was also interviewed by several publications during the show, including Information Security Media Group (ISMG), Computer Weekly, and Intelligent CISO Magazine (yet to be published). It was also good to see that Paul’s topic was named as one of the Top 5 Cybersecurity Themes Shaping the Industry.
Nearby, we were delighted to have another CRC Director, Steve Shepherd from The Cyber Resilience Centre for the South West, taking part in CyberSync24, a highly popular networking event taking part alongside Infosecurity Europe.
The peer-to-peer networking event was organised by MyRedfort, a community that brings together those interested in business technology, the problems it solves and the vendors who provide it. In just over a year, they have developed a community membership of over 30,000 business leaders! Access their content for free – there are no subscription fees – and they welcome editorial contributions, feedback, and requests for information on any of the subjects they publish. Some, but not all, of our featured content is sponsored, but they make it clear when it is, and they always maintain editorial control.
MyRedfort aims to inform community members about topics of interest so they can engage with peers through its forums.
Steve was delighted to be among the four guest speakers invited to speak at the CyberSync24 events. Steve’s fellow participants included Ash Hunt, Global CISO, International Keynote Speaker, and board Advisor; Matt Adcock , Vice President of Cyber Security; and Oliver Roskill, Co-Founder of The Hacking Games.
The discussion topic was ‘Cyber Security—It’s Everyone’s Responsibility’. You can view and download the Speaker Discussion Paper here.
This discussion underscored the intricate web of dependencies in the digital age and the critical role of cyber security at all business levels. The key findings highlight the disproportionate impact of cybercrime on micro and SMBs and its cascading effects on larger enterprises. It’s clear that a collective approach to cyber security involving businesses, governments, and international bodies is essential. The call to action is for these stakeholders to collaborate more closely in developing and implementing robust cyber security measures to safeguard the digital ecosystem.
Steve more than adequately expresses his reasons for participating in the video below.
We thank Paul and Steve for representing their respective centres, the broader CRC network, and the NCRCG in such a positive manner at these prominent events. Being active members of the cyber ecosystem is an essential element of our work that contributes to greater collaboration and enables us to quickly identify opportunities to improve the cyber resilience of our SME businesses throughout England and Wales.
