Tech chiefs debate cyberthreat in UK Parliament

Speaking at the Parliament Street think tank’s Cyber summit on Monday night, which was hosted by Dean Russell MP for Watford and chaired by Steven George-Hilley of Centropy PR, a panel of experts debated the steps that should be taken to tackle the threat posed by ransomware and other cyber threats. The discussion also explored how best to regulate AI, protect critical national infrastructure, and create a more diverse cyber workforce. 

“The evolution of cyber and race to protect government against threat has been down to specific skills. We are trying to encourage young people through internships to open up awareness into the field and spark interest,” said Oseloka Obiora, CTO at RiverSafe.

Whereas Akhil Handa, CEO of Earth51 said, “We should ask the government what they’re doing and the private sector should be held more accountable to their actions. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are just as key actions coming into play in cyber.”

Dean Russell, MP for Watford added, "Historically cybersecurity has been seen as the big organisations, but in reality we are all risks, we're the entry points for cyber threats."

Dr Andrew Dwyer, Information Security Lecturer at Royal Holloway said, "If we want to be an innovation leader in AI and other cyber policies then we need to accept that there will be greater risk to sustainability and that's a conversation that the UK needs to have"

Eleanor Dallaway of Assured Intelligence added, “We need to work on changing the rhetoric, with further opportunities of flexible working to ensure women retain positions. Socio-economic differences need addressing too. We need to remove barriers and help aid balance.”

Finally, Marc Avery of the Cyber Chain Alliance said, "We need to stimulate analytical thinking and problem solving at an early level of education to make people aware and get people interested in cyber."