Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Cybersecurity ‘not taken as seriously as it should be’, says new agency chief

Cybersecurity ‘not taken as seriously as it should be’, says new agency chief

National Cyber Security Centre chief executive Lindy Cameron is setting out her vision for the organisation.

Cybersecurity is still not taken seriously enough by organisation leaders, the new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) head has warned in her inaugural speech.

Lindy Cameron took over as chief executive of the agency in October, succeeding Ciaran Martin who led its creation in 2016.

Despite “huge progress”, the UK must not be complacent in the face of developing threats and new challenges, Ms Cameron will say in a virtual speech for Queen’s University Belfast on Friday.

"Cybersecurity is still not taken as seriously as it should be, and simply is not embedded into the UK’s boardroom thinking"


She will highlight the recent SolarWinds attack which targeted several US government agencies, as well as a Microsoft Exchange mail server vulnerability as examples of the real dangers still lurking.

“As our reliance on technology grows, it sadly also presents opportunities for those who want to do us harm online,” she will say.

“Ransomware remains a serious and growing threat, both in terms of scale and severity.

“You will have seen that earlier this week we published further practical guidance to the education sector after seeing a growth in ransomware attacks against schools, colleges and universities.

“Ransomware is not just about fraud and theft of money or data, serious as both are. It’s about the loss of key services and unenviable choices for unprepared businesses.”

National Cyber Security Centre sign


Ms Cameron will suggest that basic cyber-hygiene is as important a life skill as knowing how to wire a plug, saying “we’re all too aware that cyber-skills are not yet fundamental to our education”.

Setting out her vision for the NCSC – which is part of GCHQ – she will say: “The cybersecurity landscape we see now in the UK reflects huge progress and relative strength, but it is not a position we can be complacent about.

“Cybersecurity is still not taken as seriously as it should be, and simply is not embedded into the UK’s boardroom thinking.

“The pace of change is no excuse – in boardrooms, digital literacy is as non-negotiable as financial or legal literacy. Our CEOs should be as close to their CISO (chief information security officer) as their finance director and general counsel.”

She will say: “The National Cyber Security Centre – launched five years ago – is now a firmly embedded part of the UK cybersecurity landscape. We no longer need to prove the concept, but in what will be a challenging period of economic recovery, we need to change the dial on the outcomes we seek, and look much further ahead to the generational change that is needed.

"We need to ensure that our critical infrastructure, which keeps the country working through thick and thin, is a hard target for those that would seek to disrupt it"


“We need to ensure that the fantastic science and technology envisioned in the Integrated Review is protected from theft or acquisition by hostile states.

“We need to ensure that our critical infrastructure, which keeps the country working through thick and thin, is a hard target for those that would seek to disrupt it.

“We need to ensure that the ever-increasing amounts of data generated and processed by the internet services we use every day are properly protected and our privacy appropriately managed.

“We need to ensure that the next generation of commodity technologies don’t repeat the security mistakes of the past.

“We need to ensure that our adversaries – be they state or criminal, traditional or new – think twice before attacking UK targets. And we need to ensure that future generations are better equipped to deal with this complexity than any of their predecessors.”

The NCSC is the UK’s lead authority on cybersecurity, overseeing the response to cyberattacks and improving the cyber-resilience of the UK’s national infrastructure.

Ms Cameron previously served as director-general of the Northern Ireland Office, as well as working at the Department for International Development (DfID), responsible for programmes in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, which included work in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×