Procurement points towards setting of body to support individual forces in cyber security efforts
The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) is laying plans for a National Management Centre (NMC) for cyber security and network management services to UK forces.
The East Midlands Strategic Commercial Unit (EMSCU) has begun to look for private sector support in setting up the centre as part of the NPCC’s National Enabling Programmes, with the lure of a contract estimated at £20 million for the service.
It says in a tender notice that the aim is for the NMC to provide a comprehensive range of cyber and network management services to save UK police forces running them individually.
The plan involves the setting up a national centre of excellence to manage internal and external threats – akin to the Security Operations Centre for NHS organisations – and to enhance compliance with legislation.
The EMSCU’s notice says that individual forces will be able to acquire services from a centrally provisioned but locally delivered service based on their risk profile, technology estate and operating models.
Proactive defence
Nationally, the NMC will take a proactive stance in defending critical networks and systems and continually baseline the cyber risk management position of each force.
All this is expected to evolve through incremental improvements rather than be set up the finished article, and the EMSCU says it should fuse deep cyber expertise with an understanding of police operations.
The NPCC’s National Enabling Programmes are aimed at providing tools and capabilities to support police forces in modernising their operational delivery. They reflect some of the priorities of the Policing Vision 2025, which includes more collaboration at national level and an emphasis on digital technology and security.
Image by Southbanksteve, CC BY 2.0 through Wikimedia
