Paul MacGregor calls on organisations to take action at NATO conference on cyber security

10 November 2011 – Finmeccanica Cyber Solutions Director, Paul MacGregor, has called on organisations to invest in combatting cyber security, during a speech at NATO’s high-level Security & Defence Agenda Conference about Cyber Security, held in Brussels yesterday.

MacGregor was speaking on a panel alongside keynote speaker EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, at the conference which was hosted for European bureaucrats in an effort to raise awareness of the key cyber security issues and the co-operation mechanisms already in place and urgently needed.

Other panel speakers included Senior Civilian Representative of the Secretary of Defense in Europe & Defense Advisor of the US Ambassador to NATO, Robert G. Bell; Senior Cyber Security Advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel; Director, NATO C3 Staff, Maj. Gen. Patrick Fermier; Assistant Director of Europol, Troels Oerting; and Senior IT-Security Consultant, Florian Walther.

Focusing on the need for organisations around the world to understand the full implications of a successful cyber attack on their future business – and the pervasive nature of the threats – MacGregor also suggested that responses to such threats are available to those ready to evolve.

“The economic prosperity of the EU and individual countries is at stake,” said MacGregor. “We need to invest sufficiently and measure that investment against the value of the assets that we have in cyber space, rather than the value of the technology that we use. Currently, it’s like measuring the value of the treasure chest itself, rather than the treasure inside.”

He added that “states must take responsibility for their Cyber Borders and safeguard traffic across them while remaining accountable in line with Article 19 of the UN convention on human rights, and freedom of trade. We rightly hold freight businesses accountable for what they carry across our borders, so why not ISPs?”

Amongst the other key issues debated at the conference were the need for effective information-sharing, the role of the software industry, the multi-dimensional approach to cyber security, and the balance between resilience and defence.

Further information
For further information about Finmeccanica Cyber Solutions, please contact Mark Gunning.

About Finmeccanica Cyber Solutions
Finmeccanica Cyber Solutions represents the best of the UK's sovereign cyber security capability. For over 20 years, the combined capability of the Finmeccanica operating companies has helped ensure the highest levels of cyber security and information assurance for those responsible for national resilience, counter terrorism, and military interoperability. Our extensive and demonstrable track record, combined with a proven commitment to invest in innovation, rightly positions Finmeccanica as the UK's leading Cyber Security partner.