The Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) will take space at Abertay University’s newly launched Abertay cyberQuarter in Dundee as a founding member of the cybersecurity research and development centre.
This increased presence in the city will provide a space for the SBRC’s 20-part-time ethical hackers based out of Abertay. By maintaining a presence at Abertay cyberQuarter, the SBRC says that it will advance the support it provides to organisations beyond its base in the central belt and contribute to the Dundee centre’s aim to bring together students, academics, and others to help solve global cyber security challenges.
Jude McCorry, CEO of the SBRC (pictured fifth from right, at Abertay), said: “Abertay has long held an excellent reputation in the cyber industry. This week’s launch of the new cyberQuarter at Abertay University will extend this, and we have no doubt that it will be a positive space where academia and industry can unite to tackle cyber threats. Becoming a founding member of Abertay cyberQuarter was important for us given Dundee is already home to our brilliant team of ethical hackers who work assiduously alongside their studies to support organisations across Scotland in becoming more cyber aware. I can’t wait to see the centre live up to its potential.”
And Cheryl Torano, Abertay cyberQuarter Business Development Manager said: “We are delighted to welcome the Scottish Business Resilience Centre as a founding partner of Abertay cyberQuarter. The success of Abertay cyberQuarter is going to be reliant on bringing together the right mix of talented and driven people from across academia, industry and organisations like the SBRC, to focus on providing a blend of skills, knowledge and innovation which can help us protect against online attacks. Collaboration will be at the heart of everything Abertay cyberQuarter achieves and we are excited to see this partnership develop in our new building in Dundee, as we work to create solutions to global cybersecurity challenges and also inclusive economic growth for the Tay Cities region and Scotland more widely.”
For more about cyberQuarter visit the Abertay website. The £18m hub in the Annie Lamont Building, officially opened yesterday, was jointly funded by the university, the UK Government (£5.7m) and Scottish Government (£6m) through the Tay Cities Region Deal. Besides students, the cybersecurity arm of NHS NSS (National Services Scotland) is locating there.
The SBRC will start its presence at cyberQuarter with an on-site Exercise in a Box workshop on Wednesday June 22, on ransomware. Tayside businesses can attend the free, 90-minute workshop which will explore how they can detect and respond to phishing attacks, as well as what security controls must be implemented to limit the impact of ransomware infections. The session will also provide a setting where attendees can test the effectiveness of their current cyber strategy.
The workshop will be delivered with backing from the Scottish Government, by SBRC’s cyber team (pictured) with input from Police Scotland and others. Participants will gain a range of skills allowing them to continue refining their cyber resilience policies in their own time.
McCorry added: “More access to practical training sessions is the feedback we hear from organisations time and time again. A lack of awareness on how to manage cyber resilience could create not only operational but also reputational ramifications which, in a time when many organisations are still recovering from the pandemic, could be devastating. This will be the first of many workshops that we host from the Abertay cyberQuarter, and I encourage anyone that feels they could benefit from evaluating their cyber security strategies in a safe environment to sign up.”
SBRC has been delivering Exercise in a Box workshops since late 2020, to businesses across Scotland focused on cyber resilience. For details on the session and how to register to attend visit the SBRC website: https://www.sbrcentre.co.uk/events/exercise-in-a-box-22nd-june.
