‘Measuring the severity of incidents has proved very challenging. This could be a huge leap forward’
The UK is to launch of a new Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC) that will rate the severity of digital threats as they unfold, marking a major move to help businesses address and learn from such incidents swiftly.
Starting this Thursday, the CMC will begin its mission by categorising significant cyber events, especially those potentially leaving firms with financial losses over £100m impacting multiple entities, or furnishing enough information for a detailed analysis. Measured on a scale from one, being the least concerning, to five for the most alarming, the incidents will be scrutinised under the veye of a technical committee led by ex-chief of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ciaran Martin.
Britain has been hit by an array of online disruptions in recent times, ranging from banking system meltdowns to NHS-targeted attacks, as well as last summer’s CrowdStrike IT mishap which disrupted key services across several sectors.
Mr Martin said: “Measuring the severity of incidents has proved very challenging. This could be a huge leap forward,” and confidently added, “I have no doubt the CMC will improve the way we tackle, learn from, and recover from cyber incidents. If we crack this, and I’m confident that we will, ultimately it could be a huge boost to cyber security efforts, not just here but internationally too.”
Once an event is flagegd by the experts, the CMC will publish its rating and a detailed report to keep organisations with information that could help them recover if they’ve been hit. The CMC announced it would provide analysis from its technical committee for free. This includes insights from an Oxford cyber security professor and a former GCHQ tech leader.
Will Mayes, the boss at CMC, commented: “The risk of major cyber events is greater now than at any time in the past as UK organisations have become increasingly reliant on technology. The CMC has the potential to help businesses and individuals better understand the implications of cyber events, mitigate their impact on people’s lives, and improve cyber resilience and response plans.
I would also like to acknowledge the support from a wide range of world-leading experts who have contributed so much time and expertise to help establish the CMC, and continue to provide data and insights during events. Their ongoing support will be vital and we look forward to add further expertise to our growing cohort of partners in the months and years ahead.”