PRESS RELEASE : National Cyber Advisory Board meets at CyberUK 2023 [May 2023]

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 15 May 2023.

Government and business leaders co-chaired the second meeting of the National Cyber Advisory Board at CyberUK, discussing how to support the delivery of the National Cyber Strategy.

Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, and Chief Information Officer at Lloyds Banking Group UK, Sharon Barber, co-chaired the second meeting of the National Cyber Advisory Board on Wednesday 19th April. The meeting took place at CYBERUK, the government’s flagship cyber security conference held in Belfast.

In the meeting, the board reflected on the UK’s achievements within cyber since the launch of the National Cyber Strategy. The board discussed how it can further support the successful implementation of the National Cyber Strategy by challenging and validating current government assumptions on cyber. The board also debated how it can inform the government’s top level approach to ransomware, which remains a tier one national security threat.

The Board discussed progress against its three areas of priority focus:

• Build cyber skills throughout the economy by introducing better recruitment practices, such as standardised job specifications, and exploring how to accelerate the development of entry-level talent.
• Strengthen the security of supply chains, an area critically needing cross-industry improvement, and improve efficiency in the assurance process, through standardised supplier questionnaires.
• Increase businesses’ awareness of the risks posed by cyber attacks to drive greater action on cyber resilience.

The board expects to announce progress and actions in these areas at the next meeting, scheduled for October 2023.

These priority areas have been driven through the NCAB working groups on Cyber Skills and Diversity, Risk and Crisis Management, and Supply Chains, composed of NCAB members and government.

The National Cyber Advisory Board, a key commitment of the National Cyber Strategy, first met in November 2022. Since then, the Board has run workshops with the UK Cyber Security Council on increasing gender diversity in cyber, visited cutting-edge businesses from across the UK, including two net-zero businesses in Belfast, Translink and Artemis, and established the NCAB working groups.

Deputy Prime Minister and Co-Chair of the Board, Oliver Dowden, said:

My conversations with businesses make clear that in today’s interconnected world, security and prosperity go hand in hand. That’s one of the reasons why the National Cyber Advisory Board is central to our National Cyber Strategy.

Only by working together can we combat the evolving threat posed by criminals, hacktivists, and foreign states, and ensure that the UK remains one of the most attractive destinations for entrepreneurs and investors from all over the world.

Co-Chair of the Board and Chief Security Officer at Lloyds UK, Sharon Barber, said:

The second meeting of the National Cyber Advisory Board demonstrates the value of cooperation between the government and businesses. Working together to combat the shared threats we face helps to ensure the UK remains a safe place to invest and do business.

The Board encourages businesses to get involved with one of the many brilliant initiatives taking place across industry to strengthen our national cyber ecosystem and build the UK’s cyber resilience

The National Cyber Advisory Board embodies the ‘whole of society’ approach to cyber, which is a critical part of the National Cyber Strategy. The approach fosters the sharing of expertise and knowledge and provides the basis for stronger collaboration with partners in the UK and around the world.

Interested in contributing to the aims of the National Cyber Advisory Board? Please get involved in the following opportunities:

• Engaging with your local cyber cluster through the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3), signing up to the Cyber Runway programme and industry training such as the NCSC for Startups Programme.
• Completing NCSC’s Cyber Action Plan questionnaire, using the new NCSC “Check your Cyber Security” tool to identify and fix issues, and reading NCSC’s Cyber Security advice for Small and Medium Organisations.
• Continuing to report scam emails, texts, and websites to NCSC.

Full membership of the Board:

• Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP, Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Co-Chair)
• Sharon Barber, Chief Information Officer, Lloyds Banking Group (Co-Chair)
• Julian David, CEO, Tech UK
• Claudia Natanson, Chair, Board of Trustees, UK Cyber Security Council.
• Stephen Bonner, Executive Director, Regulatory Futures, Information Commissioner’s Office
• Debbie Forster, Co-founder and CEO, Tech Talent Charter
• Nick Godfrey, Director, Office of the CISO, Google Cloud
• Saj Huq, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Innovation, Plexal
• Chris Johnson, Pro Vice Chancellor, Engineering and Physical Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast
• Rachel Laursen, Global CISO and Head of Technology Risk, Marks and Spencer
• Emma Smith, Cyber Security Director, Vodafone
• Don Smith, Vice President, Secureworks
• Yasmin Brooks, Co-Lead Global Cyber & Data Practice, Brunswick Group
• Alison Dyer, Chief Information Security Officer, ASOS
• Gareth Williams, Vice President Operations & International – Cyber Defence Solutions Business Line, Thales
• David Meads, Chief Executive, UK and Ireland, CISCO
• Stuart Aston, National Security Officer, Microsoft.