Anxieties around cyber attacks on the public sector have been on the rise, and organisations need to be aware or a wide range of the threats and the experience of others in assessing their options for defence and response.
Public sector bodies including Hackney Council, Redcar and Cleveland Council and the University of Hertfordshire have been among those suffering serious disruptions from attacks, and there have been reports of the Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office having been hit by spyware.
There is a strong view that the sector has become a target not just for cyber criminals but state actors as part of a widespread geopolitical conflict.
This is accelerating the rapid change in the features of the threats, and the responses have to evolve at speed to keep them at bay. Public sector bodies need for a 360-degree view of the support available to ensure they can defend and respond with strength.
Against this backdrop UKAuthority is staging the Resilience and Cyber4Good online conference next week, bringing together a range of authoritative speakers from around the sector.
Contributors
Among those taking part will be Lawrence Hopper, deputy director for digital in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, talking about what the Local Digital team has learned in its engagement with councils on cyber and its plans for the next three years. Jamie Cross, programme manager for cyber security support at the Local Government Association, will share the learnings from the pilots of its Cyber 360 programme and how it will be further developed.
Geoff Connell, chair of the Cyber Technical Advisory Group will explain how local government’s cyber security will be assessed once the Public Services Network is no longer in use. And Andrew Gould, National Cyber Programme lead at the National Police Chief’s Council, will provide an update on current threats and how the police can help organisations to protect themselves.
These are just some of the contributors scheduled for the event, taking place from 11.00-12.45 on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 September. There will also be discussions with opportunities to ask questions of the speakers and make your own observations on how the landscape is changing.
It will provide vital lessons on how to strengthen cyber defences and keep vital public services running in the face of new threats – and is free to log in for public sector officials. You can sign up to take part here
