The global “Five Eyes” security alliance will top the bill at Futurescot’s Cyber Security 2025 conference in February.

Members of the Anglosphere intelligence alliance will share the latest on evolving cyber threats – and how to prepare against them.

Comprising the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the group will discuss how to combat the rise of ransomware and cyberattacks targeting the West.

Admiral Michael S Rogers, former director of the US’s National Security Agency (NSA) and US Cyber Command, will feature as the event’s international keynote speaker.

Also on the agenda will be lessons learned from Scotland’s own victims of cyberattacks, including Arnold Clark and Western Isles Council.

It will cover the national picture and strategic leadership from the Scottish Government, which has spearheaded plans for a Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre (SC3).

And the new direction for the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – under the leadership of recently appointed chief executive Richard Horne – will also be covered at the conference at the University of Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre on Tuesday, 25 February, as a key event of CyberScotland Week.

“This is a great opportunity for both the public and private sector to come and hear from some of the world’s leading cybersecurity experts,” said Hamish Miller, director of Futurescot.

“The recent cyberattacks on Scotland’s public agencies, and businesses, have underlined the threat to all organisations of pernicious ransomware and the need to address critical gaps in our cyber defences.

“We will not only hear from some of those organisations who have dealt with the aftermath of a cyber incident, but we look forward to hearing the latest best practice in defending against them, from cyber exercising to skills, training and the innovative solutions that can keep vital digital infrastructure safe and secure.”

The conference comes as the UK, in partnership with the US, recently issued a joint communique about Russian online destabilisation efforts – with government, think tanks, tech and financial firms listed as top targets.

Cyber chiefs from the NCSC – part of GCHQ – the US’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and NSA published advice in October to help organisations guard against online attacks by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

The advisory focuses on the latest tactics being used by SVR actors to collect foreign intelligence for future cyber operations, including in support of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. 

It warns that the SVR attackers are exploiting vulnerabilities at a mass scale as part of a continued global campaign and that more than 20 publicly disclosed vulnerabilities have been shared which the threat actors are assessed to have the capability and interest to exploit. 

The SVR cyber actors, also known as APT29, generally have two types of intended victims: targets of intent and targets of opportunity.

Targets of intent include government and diplomatic entities, thinktanks, technology companies, and financial institutions across the globe, including in the UK.

Targets of opportunity are located by scanning internet-facing systems for unpatched vulnerabilities at scale which are then opportunistically exploited – meaning any organisation with vulnerable systems could be targeted.

For both sets of victims, once initial access has been achieved, the SVR cyber actors can then conduct follow-on operations from compromised accounts or attempt to pivot to other networks connected to the victim, such as in their supply chain.

NCSC director of operations Paul Chichester said: “Russian cyber actors are interested in and highly capable of accessing unpatched systems across a range of sectors, and once they are in, they can exploit this access to meet their objectives.

“All organisations are encouraged to bolster their cyber defences: take heed of the advice set out within the advisory and prioritise the deployment of patches and software updates.” 

To register for Cyber Security 2025, visit here.