NCSC Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Cyber Secure Forum | Forum Events Ltd
Posts Tagged :

NCSC

UK government introduces ‘Minimum Cybersecurity Standard’

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:
0
0

The UK government has outlined the minimum cybersecurity standards that it expects for its own day-to-day operations in a new document developed in collaboration with the National Cyber Security Centre.

Over time, the measures will be incremented to continually ‘raise the bar’, address new threats or classes of vulnerabilities and to incorporate the use of new Active Cyber Defence measures.

The new standard will be incorporated into the Government Functional Standard for Security, obliging government departments and suppliers to comply.

The Minimum Cybersecurity Standard was published last week – you can view/download it here.

The HMG Security Policy Framework (SPF) provides the mandatory protective security outcomes that all Departments are required to achieve. The document defines the minimum security measures that Departments shall implement with regards to protecting their information, technology and digital services to meet their SPF and National Cyber Security Strategy obligations.

The Standards comprise 10 sections, covering five categories: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover, and also set expectations for governance, such as obliging government departments to create “clear lines of responsibility and accountability to named individuals for the security of sensitive information and key operational services”.

Other elements of the Standard include the requirement for departments to identify and catalogue sensitive information they hold, implement access controls, and also implement TLS encryption standards for email. In addition, departments will be required to have cyber-incident response plans, as well as cyber-attack detection measures.

Nine graduates pass through NCSC Cyber Accelerator

 150 150 Stuart O'Brien
By:
0
0

A group of tech start-ups have become the latest to graduate from a Government initiative to advance the next generation of cyber security systems.

The nine-month GCHQ Cyber Accelerator (now renamed the NCSC Cyber Accelerator), delivered in partnership with Wayra UK, part of Telefónica Open Future, saw nine companies develop cutting-edge products and services to help enhance the UK’s cyber defences.

Part of the UK Government’s £1.9bn National Cyber Security Strategy and the Cheltenham Innovation Centre, the Accelerator is a collaboration between the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), GCHQ, National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and Wayra UK and aims to drive innovation in the cyber security sector.

Firms selected to take part in the second round had access to personnel and technical expertise at the NCSC and GCHQ, as well as the Telefónica global business network. They also received £25,000 in funding, high-quality mentoring and office space.

Innovations developed include a cloud service solution to connect Internet of Things devices with end-to-end authenticated, encrypted security and a service to solve the problem of age verification and parental consent for young adults and children in online transactions.

Companies who took part were Cybershield, Secure Code Warrior, RazorSecure, Elliptic, Intruder, Trust Elevate, Warden, Ioetec and ExactTrak.

NCSC, DCMS and Wayra UK will soon be calling for cyber start-ups to join the third round of the programme – now renamed to the NCSC Cyber Accelerator – to help address some of cyber space’s key challenges.

Innovative entrepreneurs and start-ups can now register interest in participating in the nine-month programme, which will include ten innovative, agile companies in 2018/19.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Matt Hancock, said: “With so much of our daily lives connected to the internet, it is vital the UK leads the way on cyber security to fulfil our ambition of making Britain the safest place to in the world to be online.

“The NCSC Cyber Accelerator programme is a great example of government, industry and tech start-ups coming together to benefit from the advice of world-class experts and tackle cyber crime.”

Chris Ensor, NCSC Deputy Director for Cyber Skills and Growth, said: “On behalf of the NCSC, I would like to congratulate the second cohort on their completion of the Accelerator.

“It has been exciting to collaborate with such innovative start-ups, tackling such a broad range of problems.

“I’m really pleased that Wayra UK will continue to be our partner. I look forward to working with them and meeting more pioneering entrepreneurs as we launch the next cohort.”

Gary Stewart, Director of Wayra UK, said: “We are really pleased to be continuing our partnership with GCHQ. It’s one of our most strategic and successful partnerships.

Indeed, our first two cohorts have raised more than £20 million in funding, have created 19 British jobs and have won 15 trials and contracts worth over £3 million. And this has been just in the last 18 months.”

NCSC warns of growing cyber security threat to UK business

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
By:
0
0

Criminals are launching more online attacks on UK businesses than ever before, according to a new report published by the the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

The NCSC, which is part of GCHQ, released the report to coincide with its flagship CYBERUK 2018 summit, which is taking place this week in Manchester.

‘The Cyber Threat to UK Business‘ was jointly authored by the NCSC and the National Crime Agency (NCA) in collaboration with industry partners, and details some of the biggest cyber attacks from the last year and notes that risks to UK businesses continue to grow.

Emerging threats are also highlighted, such as theft from cloud storage and cryptojacking, in which computers are hijacked to create crypto currencies such as bitcoin.

The report acknowledges that a basic cyber security posture is no longer enough and most attacks will be defeated by organisations which prioritise cyber security and work closely with government and law enforcement.

Ciaran Martin, Chief Executive of the NCSC, said: “We are fortunate to be able to draw on the cyber crime fighting expertise of our law enforcement colleagues in the National Crime Agency.

“This joint report brings together the combined expertise of the NCA and the NCSC. The key to better cyber security is understanding the problem and taking practical steps to reduce risk.

“This report sets out to explain what terms like cryptojacking and ransomware really mean for businesses and citizens, and using case studies, shows what can happen when the right protections aren’t in place.”

The report also notes that firms are under increasing threat from ransomware, data breaches and supply chain weaknesses which it says can mean serious financial and reputational damage.

It sites real-life case studies from businesses damaged by cyber crime, including ransomware attacks that have affected companies ranging from multi-national firms to independent restaurants.

Furthermore, the report states that while law enforcement and government have successfully battled many cyber threats this year, under-reporting of cyber crime by businesses means crucial evidence and intelligence about cyber threats and offenders is being lost.

Donald Toon, director of the NCA’s Prosperity Command, said: “UK business faces a cyber threat which is growing in scale and complexity. Organisations which don’t take cyber security extremely seriously in the next year are risking serious financial and reputational consequences.

“By increasing collaboration between law enforcement, government and industry we will make sure the UK is a safe place to do business and hostile zone for cyber criminals.

“Full and early reporting of cyber crime to Action Fraud will be essential to our efforts.”