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Time for an early cyber spring clean

24/01/18

Find out how the National Cyber Security Programme-Local:
Spring Building Resilience Together Seminars can help

Birmingham | BristolManchesterLondon

"Why not start off 2018 with an early Cyber Spring clean," says William Barker, head of National Cyber Security Programme-Local

As the Global WannaCry incident proved, the nature of cyber attacks is constantly changing and local public services are as vulnerable as national public services. All organisations are at risk in our increasingly interconnected and fast mchanging world, and this includes everyday modern services provided by local government and their partners.

Local authorities and their partners find themselves at the forefront of cyber attacks and crime, so building resilience has never been so important. Providing effective leadership across localities in the face of such challenges is critical, as is understanding how to mitigate threats and boost people’s awareness, both within town halls and the wider public if we are to become more resilient.

To support this priority, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), in association with the Government's National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) and other key strategic partners, is hosting a series of free seminars aimed at organisational leaders across all levels of local government and local resilience forums to highlight the importance of cyber resilience across localities.

Aims and objectives: Local leadership seminars have been designed specifically for senior leaders and officers in local authorities, local resilience forums and their strategic partners.

They aim to:

  • Raise awareness about the NCSP, explain the role of key national strategic partners and increase understanding of the importance of cyber resilience in localities.
  • Provide local leaders, policymakers and practitioners with guidance on developing a cyber-aware culture within their organisations and across their partnerships.
  • Offer guidance on where to go for further advice or training, and how to get guidance or help in responding to cyber incidents.
  • Foster local resilience community networking.

Programme: These free-to-attend events will offer participants the unique opportunity to take part in a specially developed model Inter-Agency Cyber Exercise in association with the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Emergency Planning College, together with the MHCLG Resilience and Emergencies Directorate.  Combined with accompanying workshop briefing sessions from the following NCSP partners that will showcase the products and services they are delivering or developing to help make UK public services cyber resilient including :-

  • National Cyber Security Centre: “Defend and Deter” - Update on how organisation can boost their cyber resilience via active cyber defence.
  • Government Digital Service: “Future of Cyber Compliance” – for the Public Services Network and wider central-local interconnectivity. 
  • MHCLG Cyber: “GDPR - Think Cyber - Think Resilience” – looking at GDPR through the cyber security and cyber resilience lenses. 
  • “Combatting Cyber-crime” – on how to access the latest cyber-crime threat, intelligence and defence capabilities from your regional cyber crime unit. 

As well as hearing from key national strategic partners, delegates will have the opportunity to network with up to 80 other attendees at each event - an ideal opportunity to build locally based support networks.

Who should attend? Local leaders and senior officers, policy makers, practitioners and the wider resilience community including: chief executives, executive directors, heads of service, local resilience leads, senior category one responders, senior information officers, heads of IT, heads of policy.

For more information and to book your place, please go the following events pages:

Birmingham: Friday 16 February 2018: 
De Vere Colmore Gate, Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2QD

Bristol: Tuesday 27 February 2018:
We the Curious, Anchor Road, Harbourside, Bristol BS1 5DB

Manchester: Wednesday 21 March 2018:
King’s House Centre, Sidney Street, Manchester M1 7NB

London: Tuesday 27 March 2018:
Friends Meeting House, 173-177 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ

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