Tackling the cyber threat

Falkirk’s Graham Bye retired from the force in 2015 having performed roles as a detective within Criminal Investigation and Covert Intelligence Development during a 30-year career.

He has taken up the position of Cybersecurity Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP) Coordinator aligned to consultancy work with the SBRC.

The role will see him ensure Scottish businesses are aware of malicious scams doing the rounds and engaging with the intelligence sharing platform.

Graham said: “I’m very excited to have taken on this new role. Cyber attacks are taking place at an alarming rate across the UK, the vast majority of which are unsophisticated and can be easily prevented.

“Too many of these attacks are getting through and are impacting organisations. So there’s a real need to share cyber threat intelligence and information in real time so that businesses can respond as quickly as possible.”

CiSP is a joint industry and government scheme based in the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). It is a secure social networking platform that enables its members to exchange information on threats and vulnerabilities as they occur.

Graham’s role will also include promoting Cyber Essentials, a government-backed baseline standard enabling businesses to demonstrate that they both understand and address the cyber risks.

Graham said that, as the majority of cyber-attacks exploit basic weaknesses in IT systems and software, Cyber Essentials shows how to address the basics and prevent the most common attacks that could result in the loss of money, personal customer data and intellectual property.

He added: “With the EU General Data Protection Regulation due to take effect in May 2018, loss of data could lead to fines or prosecution. “Holding a Cyber Essentials badge will go some way to demonstrating that organisations take security seriously.

Mandy Haeburn-Little, SBRC CEO said: “Graham has a strong law enforcement background and brings a wealth of experience to this key role as part of the CiSP and Cyber Essentials. We’re working very hard to help Scottish businesses flourish in a secure environment, so we’re very excited to have him on board.”