Government’s “Whole of Society” Cyber Strategy Takes Shape

A former banking IT security boss has been named as the co-chair of the government’s National Cyber Advisory Board, a key institution created as part of its new cybersecurity strategy.

Sharon Barber was until recently chief resilience and security officer at Lloyds Banking Group, and will now lead efforts to shape a dialogue between society and the government on cybersecurity matters.

The National Cyber Advisory Board is part of a government commitment to drive a “whole of society” approach to national cyber strategy.

As such, it’s designed to bring together leaders from academia, industry and the third sector to offer government alternative viewpoints as it seeks to deliver on the “five pillars” outlined in the National Cyber Strategy 2022.

These are:

• Strengthening the UK’s cybersecurity ecosystem by investing in skills and partnerships.
• Building a resilient “digital UK” by reducing cyber risks for businesses and consumers.
• Taking a lead in strategically important technologies deemed vital to “cyber power.”
• Advancing UK global leadership to build a more prosperous, secure and open international order.
• Detecting, disrupting and deterring adversaries in cyberspace.

In her role, Barber will work closely with the government’s Cyber Growth Partnership – set-up to drive business growth in the UK’s cyber sector – and the UK Cyber Security Council, which is helping to develop and promote the profession, among other organizations.

“The government has set out an ambitious strategy – it’s now up to us to join together, harnessing the rich diversity of the UKs abilities across academia, government and industry to move into execution,” said Barber. “We will be more successful as a collective.”

Lead cyber minister, Steve Barclay, welcomed Barber to the role.

“We are investing £2.6bn in cyber over the next three years and that funding will underpin our approach to dealing collaboratively with industry, universities, schools and individual citizens to work with us to tackle the cyber challenges ahead,” he added.