A Scottish cybersecurity centre is strengthening its response to cybercrime in the ‘third sector’ – following a concerning rise in attacks on voluntary organisations – with the creation of a new role.
The Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) has appointed Alison Stone, who has over 20 years’ experience working in IT-based roles, to the new position of cyber resilience co-ordinator for the third sector.
It comes after a government report indicated that more than a quarter of voluntary sector organisations experienced a cyber breach or attack in 2020.
Leading the delivery of the ‘third sector cyber resilience action plan’ – a programme developed by the Scottish Government to help make Scotland’s third sector more cyber resilient, Stone will work with voluntary organisations across the country to build online ingenuity through effective communications, training, and strategic partnerships.
Stone said: “There has been a significant uptake amongst third sector organisations for cyber resilience prevention measures in recent years, but more needs to be done to mitigate the risk from increases in the number of and complexity of cyber attacks.
“The SBRC has made real progress in promoting the value of cyber resilience, and I look forward to building on their success to further enhance knowledge and understanding in the area to create creating a safer cyber landscape for Scotland’s voluntary organisations.”
Overseeing some 25,000+ registered charities across Scotland, she will work to enhance knowledge and understanding of basic cyber skills, as well as educate organisations on best cyber practices and responses to attacks.
In her new role Stone will also build on work undertaken in her previous position at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), where she was cyber resilience coordinator.
Jude McCorry, chief executive of the SBRC said: “Alison joins the SBRC at a critical time for third sector organisations. Digital technologies are being increasingly adopted across the sector and they hold real opportunity for organisations, their service users, staff and volunteers. However, as we have seen in 2021’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey, a great deal of risk is also associated with this uptake.
“Alison brings a breadth of knowledge and experience in business resilience, but it is her recent work with charities and voluntary organisations that will be particularly useful in helping Scotland’s third sector organisations develop robust cyber practices and effectively manage new threats and vulnerabilities.”
Stone has previously held positions at BB Hobbes and at business continuity and data protection consultancy, 3 Minutes to Midnight, where she provided guidance in general data protection regulation (GDPR) compliance, business and service continuity management, IT reviews including policies and procedures, and training.