The issue of funding levels was raised and Cattel said increases were needed both in the public and in the private sector to upgrade technology in the face of increased cyber risk. However, Arif said investment requests should be honest, as existing solutions often make new purchases unnecessary. ‘There are improvements you can make which cost nothing,’ he suggested. ‘Cyber awareness is a classic example where there is a lot you can do with existing tools.’ That included bringing in equipment suppliers to look at upgrades, new tools, or ways of utilising the technology. ‘You may find you are probably using the product the same way you were using it three years ago,’ he added, ‘but the threat landscape has completely changed in that time.’
Profiles:
Gary McAllister is Chief Technology Officer (Healthcare & Public Sector) for Dell Technologies. He previously worked in the NHS, including at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
Nasser Arif is cyber security manager for London Northwest Healthcare Trust and Hillingdon Hospital Healthcare Trust, managing the cyber team and incident response and is passionate about the human element of cyber security.
Linda Kaye is a Professor of Psychology and Associate Head in the Department of Psychology at Edge Hill University in Lancashire. Her expertise is in cyberpsychology, the psychology of technology use and online behaviour.
Sam Cattell is Technical Cyber Lead at Digital Care Hub and a former hacker. He has previously worked for the NHS and in the police but now has a role within social care.