General

• Jude McCorry, CEO of the Scottish Business Resilience Centre, has been selected to chair the CyberScotland Partnership Steering Group, formed earlier this year to combat cyber crimes.

• Jude will lead the Steering Group and oversee the direction of CyberScotland Partnership, a group of 10 organisations working towards a cyber resilient Scotland.

The CyberScotland Partnership has selected Jude McCorry, CEO of the Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC), as its first chair. In this additional role, Jude will work to streamline the flow of information available around cyber security so that organisations are fully supported following any attack or attempted breach and make Scotland a more cyber resilient country.

Jude said: “Over the past year, we’ve all seen the importance of building up our cyber defences. The Scottish Government’s Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland sets out what we need to do to make Scotland secure – but there is a plethora of information out there and, at the SBRC, we’ve witnessed confusion around where to get the right support. As chair, I will work to clarify this.

The CyberScotland.com website is a vital tool in our armoury to support organisations. We are committed to ensuring that everyone can access accurate guidance on cyber security and resilience. The site builds on the community spirit so evident in Scotland: sharing information and emerging stronger in the end. In doing so, we will reinforce Scotland’s reputation as a safe place to do business online.”

Earlier this year, the collaboration launched CyberScotland.com, a single online resource for individuals and organisations across the public, private, and third sectors. It offers information and support across a range of cyber security and resilience issues, as well as information on skills development for anyone seeking to start a career in cyber security.

Lindy Cameron, CEO of The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said: “We are pleased to see the Scottish Government’s ongoing commitment to cyber resilience. CyberScotland is the next bold step in defending Scotland against cyber attacks – in a collaborative and coordinated way. The NCSC looks forward to supporting in our role as the UK’s national technical authority for cyber security.”

Terry A’Hearn, Chief Executive of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), added: “The serious and significant ransomware against SEPA on Christmas Eve and subsequent attacks against University of the Highlands and Islands and Glasgow-based Aspire Housing are very visual demonstrations of the potential impacts of cyber-crime on public, private or voluntary sector organisations.

“Sadly cyber-crime is an increasing challenge which is why at SEPA we’re shining a light and speaking openly about internationally orchestrated cyber-crime, risk, response, recovery and in time, we’ll share our learnings widely so that we and all others with an interest can benefit from our experience. One of the most important learnings to date has been the support and co-ordination we’ve received from the Scottish Government, Police Scotland, Scottish Business Resilience Centre and the National Cyber Security Centre in response to the attack.  The CyberScotland Partnership is a vital further step in ensuring Scotland stands-up and remains resilient to cyber-crime.”

CyberScotland.com is funded by the Scottish Government. The 10 participating lead organisations in the partnership are: Scottish Government ( Cyber Resilience Unit); Police Scotland; Scottish Business Resilience Centre; Highlands and Islands Enterprise; Scottish Enterprise; Scotland IS; Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations; YoungScot; Skills Development Scotland; and Education Scotland. The UK National Cyber Security Centre serves as a technical advisor.

The national Steering Group consists of one senior executive from each partner organisation; the role of chairperson will rotate each year among the group’s members.