By Sarah Morgan
“Keeping the UK safe in cyber space” reads in the official press release about CERT-UK, the UK’s national Computer Emergency Response Team, which will prepare for and deal with national cyber security incidents.
Besides responding to threats, the body will also act as an
advisory and provide alerts on cyber hazards to government, corporations and educational
institutions.
CERT-UK will provide advice and guidance to help companies
prepare and protect themselves, as well as expertise to help respond promptly once
an incident has occurred.
It’s an important
step
Francis Maude, Cabinet Office Minister responsible for Cyber
Security said:
“This government’s
most important task is to protect our security and ensure Britain is a safe
place to work, live and do business. That’s why I’m delighted to launch the
UK’s Cyber Emergency Response Team.”
“We know government
cannot do everything by itself. CERT-UK shows we want closer coordination
between government, business and academia to share insight and advice, as well
as better cooperation with our international partners.”
“The job of protecting
our security will never be done – it will always be a work in progress. But,
from today, CERT-UK means we are better prepared, better informed, better
connected and ultimately more resilient.”
Main
responsibilities
CERT-UK has four main responsibilities, all following the UK
Cyber Security Strategy:
- National cyber security incident management
- Supporting critical national infrastructure companies in handling cyber security incidents
- Promoting cyber security situational awareness across industry, academia and the public sector
- Providing the single international point of contact for co-ordination and co-operation with other nations’ CERTs
Meet the director
Although CERT-UK had its official launch yesterday, director
Chris Gibson, formerly the director of e-crime at Citigroup, was appointed in
November and he has been working as head of the body ever since.
With over 9 years of experience on the leadership team of
the international Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), with
the last 2 as global chair, Gibson is a globally recognised expert on cyber
incident response.
He was also a member
of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) Cyber Advisory Panel and for 10 years
one of Citigroup’s representatives to the Centre for the Protection of National
Infrastructure’s Financial Service’s Information Exchange.
Watch the following video of Chris Gibson introducing CERT-UK at the International Cyber Security Forum in January.
Watch the following video of Chris Gibson introducing CERT-UK at the International Cyber Security Forum in January.
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About the Author:
Sarah writes for Firebrand Training on a number of IT related topics. This includes exams, training, certification trends, project management, certification, careers advice and the industry itself. Sarah has 11 years of experience in the IT industry.