Cyber security jobs news roundup: September 2023
Keep up-to-date with some of the biggest stories in the world of cyber security in our monthly roundup.
We’re rounding up some of the biggest cyber security stories of the past few weeks. In September, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) announced a new scheme to support organisations’ resilience, funding was announced for a cyber defence competition, a spike in cyber attacks on UK pension schemes highlighted a growing need for skills and registration opened for the next CyberFirst Girls competition.
NCSC announces Cyber Incident Exercising scheme
The new Cyber Incident Exercising (CIE) scheme is open for firms to apply for Assured Provider status. Delivered by the NCSC in partnership with security providers IASME and CREST, the programme aims to further strengthen organisations’ preparation and responses to cyber incidents.
CIE is focused on delivering two types of cyber exercises to test firms’ response plans. First, there will be table-top sessions in which participants will discuss roles, responsibilities, activities and key decision points based on pre-arranged scenarios.
Live-play exercises will feature as well, with participants conducting their roles and responsibilities in real time while responding to a pre-agreed scenario. The scheme is open to organisations of all sizes and is particularly interested in firms situated in remote or under-represented areas.
£880k funding for competition set to mitigate cyber risk in defence
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) has launched a new competition to boost digital resilience, Reducing Cyber Risk Across Defence. Up to £880,000 is available in funds, provided by the Cyber Resilience Programme (CRP) in Defence Digital, a part of Strategic Command.
The CRP aims to build a cyber-resilient Defence sector with the help of a collective response. The competition makes up a broader set of activities undertaken by the programme that brings together industry, academia, allies and partners to develop truly resilient military capabilities.
The competition will seek innovative projects that deliver outputs at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, which means “technology model or prototype demonstration in a relevant environment.” The submission deadline is set for Tuesday 31 October 2023.
UK pension schemes suffer 4,000% uplift in cyber crime
UK pension schemes reported a 4,000 per cent rise in cyber security breaches in the year to June 2023, according to research compiled by RPC for the Information Commissioner's Office. The financial services industry itself suffered triple the attacks of the previous year.
These figures highlight the UK’s chronic shortage of skilled cyber security experts, with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology reporting over half of British firms currently lack professionals with the appropriate skills.
Separate global research from Isaca showed the most severe shortages to be in soft skills, such as communicating and dealing with other people. Clar Rosso, chief executive at ISC2, suggested the current workforce must grow by 70 per cent to address the vast number of vacancies.
Registration opens for CyberFirst Girls competition
CyberFirst Girls aims to introduce girls to cyber security, increase diversity and support a global effort to tackle the significant skills shortage within the industry. Teachers across the UK have been urged to enter teams from their classes, with hopes this will inspire a new generation of female talent in technology and cyber security.
Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have shown the number of women working in tech to have dropped between Q1 and Q2 2023, despite other research showing the industry experienced overall growth throughout the same period. According to the DSIT, only 17 per cent of cyber security professionals are female.
CyberFirst Girls is now open for registration. The competition is set to begin at noon on Monday 20 November and runs until Wednesday 29 November, with winners announced on Sunday 3 December.
