Gerry Rourke

Columnist

Gerry Rourke,

Cyber Security Specialist at Fujitsu

Cyber Security Opportunities in a Post COVID World

Gerry Rourke, Cyber Security Specialist at Fujitsu, discusses how Northern Ireland’s expanding cyber security sector can help play a role in COVID-19 recovery.

The cyber security challenge has grown exponentially in the past 5 years as complex cybersecurity threats become evermore commonplace globally. While this threat presents an ongoing challenge for many Northern Ireland businesses, the cyber security industry has also grown in NI to meet the increasing global demand for services and technology to support businesses to meet these challenges.

In its annual review, the National Cyber Security Centre reported that it fended off more than 200 COVID-19 related cyberattacks such as phishing and ransomware in the last 9 months as cyber criminals exploit the pandemic. Many of these attacks came in the form of opportunistic phishing emails, where credible sources indicate a 600% spike in attacks. To place this in context at an individual level, some £190,000 is lost every day in the UK by victims of cyberattacks. Locally, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has seen a surge in cyberattacks against local businesses since the outbreak of COVID-19, with many attacks trying to exploit the upheaval and uncertainty that the pandemic has created.

As we introduce new digital applications and technologies, the global digital infrastructure becomes increasingly diversified and at greater risk of cyber security threats. Cyber security is an essential facet of doing business, and a good example is the recent shift to remote working, which has become a key target area for criminals. Research shows that 74% of CFOs expect a significant part of their workforce to continue working from home after the pandemic has ended. This expected shift exposes businesses to security risks at a scale they have never faced.

With cyber security threats now coming in many forms, from phishing to ransomware to attacks on cloud based systems and IoT devices, all organisations must have a robust cybersecurity plan that enables them to prevent, as well as respond and recover from cyberattacks. A recent example in 2020 that underlines the importance of response and recovery is the well-publicised ransomware attack by “Sodinokibi” on a currency exchange provider that resulted in several high street banks being unable to offer currency exchange services for weeks.

Just as cyber threats become more sophisticated, so do the capabilities – people, process and technology – required to address these attacks, such as the need for 24/7 monitoring, incident response functions, intelligence and technical capabilities. This is balanced against a current global shortage in cyber security skills, which stands at around 3.12 million people.

The scale of the challenge means that cybersecurity solutions and skills must be delivered rapidly to address it. Herein lies a strong growth opportunity that can boost economic recovery as we face the twin challenges of COVID-19 and the end of the Brexit transition period. In 2018, the NI Government released its Cyber Strategy: A Strategic Framework for Action publication, aimed at developing a skilled cybersecurity workforce and making the region “an excellent cybersecurity centre”. This strategy has the dual benefits of protecting NI organisations from cybersecurity threats and driving the economic benefits of creating circa 5,000 new high value jobs in cybersecurity by 2026.

At Fujitsu, we have recognised the potential of the NI region as a leader in cybersecurity, and have been migrating the majority of our networking/security support functions for major UK and NI Government clients into NI since 2011. Fujitsu recognise that NI must develop cybersecurity knowledge workers, such as strategists, solution architects, technologists as well as process and delivery expertise, to remain competitive in this growing market.

It is an ambitious goal and one that we have not yet reached. It can only be achieved by building the underpinning third level educational structure to ensure a large number of highly skilled people are entering the cybersecurity workplace to attract major security providers/investors.

Fujitsu has seen this drive in other UK regions. For example, we have collaborated with Cyber College Wales (“Cyber College Cymru”), Admiral Insurance and Thales to develop a pilot project, that included a modern Cyber Security Curriculum. The goal is both to close the skills gap and enable young people to develop their careers in an area of opportunity. This public and private partnership also provides blocks of practical work experience through the academic year.

NI is driving cyber innovation, through the Centre for Security Information Technologies (CSIT) and Queen’s University Belfast, who are doing great work in focusing on new evolving areas of security growth. Queen’s are also supporting the programme by offering 400 free places to online cybersecurity courses to upskill and retrain those directly affected by COVID-19.

Going forward, Northern Ireland businesses will have to focus on strengthening their cybersecurity, in line with NI Cyber Centre guidance, to ensure they avoid potential risks. This commitment should include, among other things, building security awareness and upskilling personnel both to deal with cyberattacks and to educate personnel on how to remain vigilant to potential threats.

Times of adversity often present opportunities. By expanding our cybersecurity business engagement, developing our expertise and investing in the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, we can address the threats as well as capture the global opportunity to access new markets. In this, we can make Northern Ireland both, a cybersecurity centre of excellence, and an attractive place to do business.

ACCESS EXPERTISE FROM QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY BELFAST AND EMBED INNOVATION IN YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER PARTNERSHIPS

KTPs link businesses with an expert academic team and a suitably qualified graduate. This dynamic, three way partnership collaborates to deliver a strategic project – sharing expertise, experience and resources to bring about change, embed knowledge and deliver growth for your business.

KTP has been proven to work with businesses in a wide range of sectors and sizes, from Construction to Cyber-Security and Manufacturing to Diagnostics. Due to its success, a new form of Management KTPs (MKTPs) have been introduced.

Management KTPs operate in the same way as KTPs but with the focus specifically on management-based projects to increase business effectiveness and productivity. MKTPs take a wide view, incorporating a range of leadership and management skills and requirements to build a strategy that drives change and improves business performance. Spanning all key business functions - from marketing to IT, creativity to strategic management; HR to employment relations; finance to logistics - MKTPs seek to support strategic management projects across core activities. In Northern Ireland, KTP and MKTP projects are mainly funded by Invest NI and Innovate UK. Following Ampliphae’s recent KTP success, Trevor Graham, CEO (pictured in image to the left), said: “Our KTP project addressed Cloud-based cyber threats. Remote working staff are particularly vulnerable to cyber security threats, and there has been a significant increase in cyber-attacks directed against remote workers.

This successful KTP collaboration allowed Ampliphae to protect organisations and their staff as they deal with the transition to home-based working.”

If you have an innovative business idea and would like to discuss whether a KTP or Management KTP could help take it forward, contact us at ktp@qub.ac.uk.

NOW IS THIS THE RIGHT TIME TO MOVE TO PHEV AND FULLY ELECTRIC VEHICLES

As we continue to see the number of Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (Phev) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) on our roads an important question will be to consider if this type of alternatively fuelled vehicle works for your business and your drivers. As we now know the recent budget has maintained the £3k grant for Electric vehicles costing less than £50000. There are several key considerations to review all of which have implications and impact on suitability, these include;

Electric Range – while we are beginning to see vehicles becoming available with increased electric ranges, the daily, weekly and monthly mileage a driver requires may preclude certain fully electric vehicles, alternatively a Phev brings added flexibility without ‘range anxiety’. Fuel or Electricity reimbursement – if you provide either Phev or Bev’s there needs to be a consideration as to how you and your drivers deal with business mileage. Handling this in the wrong way could have significant cost implications.

Benefit in Kind – Providing both Phev and BEV’s will result in potential savings for your company car drivers and a reduction in Class1 NIC company costs.

Leasing costs – in some cases Phev and BEV’s can be more expensive than comparable Petrol or Diesel variants meaning that while the monthly company costs increase the drivers benefit from significantly reduced BIK rates. However, the true whole life costs could well benefit both company and driver and at Agnew Leasing they are more than happy to calculate these for you.

Clearly these are just some of the considerations to take account of, however at Agnew Leasing they understand how best to guide you and your drivers through the process of deciding if these vehicles have a role in your fleet, which specific vehicles to select and how best to manage the integration.

For more information on this please contact David McEwen (Head of Business Development) at Agnew Leasing on 02980 386600 or david. mcewen@agnews.co.uk