The Scottish Cyber Information Network (SCiNET) launches for Scottish SME’s (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) on 3rd July 2015.
This initiative, run by CERT-UK and funded as part of the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy, makes use of an information sharing facility called CiSP (Cyber-security Information Sharing Partnership).
Forming part of CERT-UK, CiSP is used by businesses across the United Kingdom. CiSP is a secure online information sharing platform and a joint collaboration between industry and government to share cyber threat and vulnerability information.
Its objective is to increase overall awareness of the cyber threat, and therefore reduce the impact upon business. SCiNET’s launch builds on the success of a Scottish cyber sharing node that already exists on CiSP, which was established by CERT-UK to support the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The launch of SCiNET follows considerable feedback from SMEs and authorities in Scotland, and builds on the success of similar sharing nodes in England and Northern Ireland, developed as part of the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy.
SciNET will ensure that the cyber information sharing initiative is available to even more companies.
This initiative is supported by the Scottish Government, Police Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, the Scottish Business Resilience Centre and CERT-UK.
Royal Bank of Scotland will be acting as ‘Champions’ for SCiNET and will be hosting the launch, attended by over 70 Scottish SMEs, as well as providing ongoing support to SCiNET members to facilitate effective discussion in the secure area. SCiNET, like CiSP, is free to join and presents businesses with an opportunity to engage with industry, government and law enforcement counterparts in a secure environment
Commenting on the launch, Chris Gibson, Director of CERT-UK said “I’m very pleased to be launching this network. Situational awareness is at the heart of what CERT-UK does and is the catalyst for the Scottish Cyber Information Network (SCiNET). Cyberspace is simply too big for any organisation, whether public or private sector, to have sight on everything that’s going on and so there is a massive need to pool our information for mutual benefit.
“This initiative, supported by CiSP, enables businesses and government to exchange information on threats and vulnerabilities as they occur in real time.”
Mandy Haeburn –Little Director of the Scottish Business Resilience Centre said: “The launch of SCiNET provides Scottish businesses with that online resource to share threat information in real time with key partners in business and academia. It is also an important part of developing a Strategy for a Cyber Resilient Scotland.
” I would encourage businesses to sign up and actively contribute. SCiNET will help your business gain a greater awareness of cyber issues and more importantly be able to call on the expertise of cyber specialists.”
As DCC Iain Livingstone, Police Scotland highlights: “This kind of partnership has the ability to turn the ever evolving cyber security landscape into a significant opportunity, not only to protect but to grow an industry sector that can be of major benefit to the Scottish economy and the people of Scotland.”
Kevin Havelock, Regional Director, Edinburgh & East of Scotland, Corporate & Commercial Banking from Royal Bank of Scotland, who hosts the launch and act as champions for the initiative said: “It is critically important that we help our customers and businesses understand how they can take action to protect themselves from fraud and other security threats.
“Our membership of CISP helps deliver this for both the Royal Bank of Scotland and our customers and we are keen to help other people in Scotland benefit from this exciting and innovative platform”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
