Dr. Madeline Carr tells the International Relations Committee “the paradox of the information age: the states that have integrated digital technologies into their infrastructures most successfully are most vulnerable to the threats that they present.”

UK Houses of Parliament, International Relations Committee @ Wednesday 28 February 2018

Prof. Siraj Ahmed Shaikh writes “…the launch of a Global Centre for Cybersecurity (GCC) with a clear mission to prevent a digital dark age. It claims to be the first platform for cybersecurity coordination on a global scale, bringing together governments, business and law enforcement agencies. But for such a noble goal to work, it requires deeper resolve to deliver and a level of national commitment unprecedented over previous efforts. Given the increased global uncertainty, we are yet to have faith.”

Digital dark age fears stoked by Davos elite do little to address cybersecurity

The ECSEPA team recently held a Mapping Validation Workshop at The Wesley Hotel in Euston, London. The event brought together policymakers working in cyber security across HMG to discuss how best to represent our ‘Map of the UK Cyber Security Governance Landscape.’ Participants included those working at the forefront of the UK’s cyber security policy issues from Cabinet Office, FCO, DCLG, HMRC, DCMS and many more.

At the workshop we presented our key findings, discussed map functionality and posed map usability questions to the audience who provided insight into the challenges HMG face in cyber security governance. The majority of the time was spent on roundtable discussions critiquing and refining the maps’ accuracy, utility and design. Using an A0 map in print, policymakers were able to draw directly onto the maps whilst discussing with each other how their respective departments interact with one another on cyber security policy.

Representatives from academia were also present at the workshop, which included EPSRC Senior Portfolio Manager Dr Miriam Dowle, as well as two researchers from UCL’s Department of Geography: Dr Artemis Skarlatidou who works in Human Computer Interaction and User Experience, and PhD candidate Alex Papadopoulos who specialises in Human Computer Interaction and Spatial Data. Through their input and conversation with policymakers, we developed a comprehensive list of findings to be incorporated into the map as it progresses onto its next stage: graphic design.

The Mapping Exercise is an extension of the EPSRC funded project, ‘Evaluating Cyber Security Evidence for Policy Advice’ (ECSEPA). It is a five-month project funded through the Research Institute in the Science of Cyber Security (RISCS).

The project seeks to map out the complex, rapidly developing UK cybersecurity policy landscape in order to understand, from an organisational angle, how to optimise effectiveness in governance and efficiency in service delivery. This involves developing clarity about how cyber security is organised within HMG – for example, where cyber security policy is being developed and implemented, how different issue bases interact and coincide, where there is duplication, and where there are gaps.