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BCS joins collaborative alliance of organisations to advance UK’s cyber security profession

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT has joined forces with a number of established councils, chartered professional bodies, professional certification bodies, academics and industry representative groups to establish a collaborative alliance to advance the development of the cyber security profession.

Phil Huggins, Chair of BCS Security and Privacy Executive explains: “Cyber events continue to have a growing impact on our society; we can no longer manage this as a technology issue in isolation. The demands of the organisations and institutions we protect make necessary the professionalisation of cyber risk management. That professionalism must keep pace with the breadth of skills required to deliver resilient organisations. This collaboration across chartered and professional bodies allows us to gather a broad range of skills and experience and apply them to ensure the cybersecurity profession delivers the consistency and coverage that society needs.”

Common objectives agreed by Alliance members include:

  • To harness the full range of proven and established UK cybersecurity professional expertise;
  • To provide a forum for benchmarking and shared standards for cybersecurity professional excellence;
  • To enable the development of the specialist skills and capabilities that will allow the UK to keep pace with rapidly evolving cyber risks;
  • To enable a self-sustaining pipeline of talent providing the skills to meet our national needs;
  • To provide a focal point which can advise, shape and inform national policy

The announcement follows constituent members’ participation in a series of workshops led by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to develop a national professional body for cyber security, with government’s proposals now open to public consultation. Alliance members are now committed to engaging their membership to encourage a broad and robust response from the broad community of practice currently working in the field.

Jeremy Barlow MBCS, Director of Standards, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT adds: “BCS strongly believes that collaboration at all levels is necessary to protect the public from current and future cyber threats. This collaborative development is therefore not only a functional necessity, but speaks to a necessary culture change for organisations and individuals working in cyber. As with other established professions, there will be places where we compete, but we must collaborate and share as a diverse professional community for the good of everyone to ensure we do not let down the people we ultimately serve. Our announcement is only the start of our work, but it is well-founded on a shared mission, built on trust and compatible objectives, and bodes well for the future.

It’s fantastic to be able to declare this with such a large field of distinguished organisations, and perhaps surprising to see for many who have worked in cyber security. This is a true reflection on a new culture and a new level of public need for the best in cyber security.”

With representation from a breadth of disciplines currently active in cyber security professional practice, including computing, engineering, physical security, Critical National Infrastructure and focused cyber security bodies, the collaborative effort reflects constituent members’ common understanding that professional cybersecurity expertise is relevant to a broad range of disciplines. With an overall aim to provide clarity around the skills, competences and career pathways within this fast-moving area of professional practice, the initial objective is to support commitments expressed within the UK National Cyber Security Strategy to provide a focal point for advising national policy, including the stated intent to recognise professionals through Chartered status.

The Alliance brings together a range of established expertise and disciplines, each of which currently has a leadership role in underpinning UK resilience in the digital environment. The founding membership includes several bodies operating under a Royal Charter granted through the Privy Council, and able to grant chartered status within their discipline, and it is open to including any organisation currently working on its common aims. Listed in alphabetical order current members include: BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD), the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences (CSofFS), CREST, The Engineering Council, IAAC, The Institution of Analysts and Programmers (IAP), The IET, Institute of Information Security Professionals (IISP), Institute of Measurement and Control (InstMC) ISACA, (ISC)2, techUK, The Security Institute, and WCIT.

Phil Huggins - Biography 

Phil Huggins is the Group Head of Information Risk & Security at Prudential PLC and is responsible for leading security globally. Phil has spent the last 20 years as a security & risk professional across multiple commercial sectors and in government focusing on security management at an executive and board with a background in technical security. Phil has also advised national regulators on cyber resilience and cyber security. Phil is a Chartered Fellow of the BCS.

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Channel website: http://www.bcs.org/

Original article link: https://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/59720

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