Cyber resilience of critical infrastructure - UK Parliament invites NCC Group’s Siân John as expert witness

Earlier today, NCC Group’s Chief Technology Officer, Siân John, gave evidence to the UK House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee about the cyber resilience of critical national infrastructure (CNI) and tackling the cyber skills shortage.   

Through its latest inquiry, the Committee is examining the Government’s progress toward meeting its 2025 cyber resilience targets and what more needs to be done to secure the UK's CNI. 

Last year, NCC Group submitted written evidence to the inquiry, providing a detailed view of the current cyber threat landscape and urging the Government to move forward with crucial updates to the UK’s cyber laws.   

NCC Group’s Siân John joined former NCSC CEO Professor Ciaran Martin CB, Professor Sadie Creese, and Professor Awais Rashid in the Committee’s first evidence session of the inquiry.   

Invited to provide her expert views, Siân spoke about the way in which the widespread use of legacy systems and operational technology (OT) in some parts of CNI is increasing the attack surface and making infrastructure vulnerable to malicious cyber actors. She noted that tackling this problem will require OT engineers to be trained in cyber security concepts. 

Siân highlighted that we need everyone to have an understanding of cyber and cyber risk and be able to use it in their day to day, from school age children right through to boards, and that cyber should be seen as a career and a profession not just a job – one that has many different disciplines.   

Speaking about her experience, Siân said: “Having started out my career in the IT department at Parliament, it was fitting to be back 25 years later to talk about how important it still is to embed good cyber security across society.   

It was great to see how engaged and serious the Committee were in understanding what can be done to enhance the UK’s cyber resilience. Ensuring we have the right workforce, as well as equipping everyone with the cyber skills they need to thrive in a digital economy, will be fundamental to the Government’s approach.  I really look forward to seeing the outputs from this important inquiry.”  

What’s next?  

Once it has concluded its evidence gathering phase, the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee will use the insights gained from experts like Siân to draft and publish a report. This will include recommendations for the UK Government on the best way forward.  

NCC Group looks forward to continuing work in this area to ensure better security outcomes in support of our purpose to create a more secure digital future.  

You can watch the full parliamentary discussion online here: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/4a314e2b-447e-4250-a4e8-950a954a33b1