UK National Cyber Security Centre Gets a New CTO

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has announced its new chief technology officer (CTO) will be Ollie Whitehouse.

Spun out of spy agency GCHQ in 2016, the NCSC plays a crucial role in advising businesses and consumers about how to avoid emerging threats. It also serves as the National Technical Authority for cybersecurity and works hard to encourage more talent into the industry.

As its new CTO, Whitehouse will be at the center of all of these efforts, helping to shape and deliver the UK’s approach to cyber, working to build cyber-resilience, improving the pipeline of young talent and ensuring the NCSC remains at the cutting edge of new tech developments.

Whitehouse joins the NCSC from UK-headquartered information assurance firm NCC Group, where he worked for many years. Before that, he held roles at Blackberry and Symantec.

There’s no direct predecessor in the CTO role at the NCSC, although Whitehouse is expected to fill many of the duties undertaken by former technical director, Ian Levy, who left for Amazon in February after more than two decades working for the government.

Read more on the NCSC: NCSC Publishes New Guidance on Shadow IT

NCSC CEO, Lindy Cameron, welcomed Whitehouse to the role.

“He will bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our mission to make the UK the safest place to live and work online at a time when the pace of technological change has never been more evident,” she said.

Despite working in the private sector for 27 years, Whitehouse is no stranger to government, having held many senior advisory roles including chair for the DSIT Cyber Technology External Advisory Group.

He described his new colleagues as “world class,” in a brief statement.

“Having worked closely with the NCSC since its inception, I know how crucial its mission is and I am eager to contribute to our national security by addressing the collective challenges we face in maintaining our edge in cyberspace,” Whitehouse added.