The NCSC implements new cyber defence programmes

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Olivia Storey

The National Cyber Security Centre has announced that they will be implementing four Active CyberDefence programmes that are aiming to help to improve basic cyber security across UK businesses and government departments.

These programmes are part of a National Cyber Security Strategy that wants to make infrastructure, products and services safer and easier to use by both organisations and individuals. The strategy offers services such as DNS filtering, and DMARC, and to make access automatic.

Since the cyber-attack on the UK government recently we ask Mark James, ESET IT Security Specialist, are the Active Cyber Defence programmes enough protection?

“I think any help towards taking the sole onus away from the end user has to be a great thing in my mind.

“When the end user does not actually understand, or is not even in a position to make a factual choice regarding something being good or bad then relying on those choices to keep us safe is starting on a negative to begin with. Like most security, a multi-layered approach is what is going to work best.

“If procedures are in place to limit or reduce the actual bad things the end user will encounter then that has to be good for everyone. A good solid basic defence will lead to fewer blind choices and should reduce the damage caused by making those mistakes.

“Considering the attack the government faced recently there are steps the UK government could take to improve cyber security, as protecting and reducing the attack footprint are two very different things.

“The procedures mentioned are means to limit the damage, by lowering the percentage of attacks made through opportunistic malware or simple targeted attacks the end user has less to worry about.

“It’s much easier to have procedures in place to combat certain scenarios, rather than trying to educate your users against all possible attacks.

“In an ideal world of course it would be great, but it’s just not realistic, automated defence will limit the choices, of course we can’t catch them all and some false positives are likely but the overall result should be positive and embraced.”  

 

What do you think of the new programme? Let us know on Twitter @ESETUK.

 

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