It's your what in a box? Here's a thing to make your bosses think about malware responses
Ever-exciting Cabinet Office minister David Lidington has put his name to a new infosec response testing tool developed by the NCSC, called (wait for it) Exercise in a Box.
In a speech due to be delivered to the Cyber UK conference in Glasgow later today, Lidington will inform the world: "This new free online tool will be critical in toughening the cyber defences of small businesses, local government, and other public and private sector organisations."
Exercise in a Box, or so Lidington will say, "provides scenarios based on common cyber threats facing the UK, which organisations can practice in their own time, in a safe environment, as many times as they want". You can pick from a technical simulation or a tabletop discussion.
"Just like having a fitness tracker, the tool enables players to monitor their progress," burbled the Cabinet Office in its explanation of the tool.
We do not yet know if it's available on Xbox or Apple Watch but doubtless readers will want to seek further information for themselves about that.
Gentle mockery aside, the idea is to get organisations large and small thinking about what to do if when Something Bad Happens to their IT infrastructure, whether as a result of drive-by ransomware or a targeted attack. Although the version currently available from the NCSC website was developed for SMEs and the emergency services, we are told the general concepts can be applied to most other organisations too.
"By practising your defence and response mechanisms, you can understand how effective they really are and where there are areas for improvement," said NCSC chief exec Ciaran Martin in a canned quote. "We're committed to building the UK's cyber resilience and continuing our work to make the country the hardest possible target for our adversaries."
As NCSC tech director Ian Levy expressed the underlying problem while talking to the press yesterday about industrial control malware: "There's kind of a mantra in the cybersecurity community that says [people working on safety critical systems] will never patch because they're just too scared to ever patch anything. There's a mantra in the [Operational Technology] world that says cybersecurity are cowboys because they patch instantly. It's about bringing them together and having that conversation."
It might not be as exciting as Stuxnet or zero-day vulns ("Why use a zero-day if you can spearphish an admin and log in from the internet?" asked Levy, rhetorically) but getting the less security-aware parts of the UK more savvy about infosec practices can only be a good thing.
source theregister
Industry: Cyber Security
Latest Jobs
-
- Technical Pre Sales Cybersecurity Consultant. Healthcare
- England
- N/A
-
Technical Pre Sales Cybersecurity Consultant UK Remote | Healthcare Focus Overview We are seeking an experienced Technical Pre Sales Cybersecurity Consultant to support healthcare organisations by delivering advisory, solution design, and security uplift services. This role focuses on improving security outcomes, addressing operational challenges, and enabling informed technology decisions across complex and regulated environments. The position blends technical pre sales expertise with a consultative approach, working closely with clinical, technical, and commercial stakeholders to shape effective cybersecurity solutions. The individual must be able to achieve UK Security Clearance. Key Responsibilities Provide technical pre sales support across cybersecurity solutions and services for healthcare organisations Engage stakeholders to understand security challenges, risks, and operational pain points Deliver advisory guidance and recommendations to strengthen security posture and resilience Translate customer requirements into clear, outcome focused technical and commercial solution designs Act as a trusted technical advisor throughout the sales and early delivery lifecycle Produce clear technical documentation, recommendations, and customer facing materials suitable for regulated environments Collaborate closely with sales, delivery, and technical teams to align solutions with customer needs Experience and Skills Proven experience in technical pre sales or cybersecurity consultancy Experience working within healthcare or other highly regulated sectors Broad knowledge of cybersecurity technologies, managed services, and risk based approaches Strong communication skills with the ability to engage both technical and non technical stakeholders Confident operating in a client facing, consultative role UK based role with remote working Occasional travel for customer engagement as required
-
- Contract Technical Pre Sales Cyber Security Healthcare. SC clearance needed
- England
- Outside IR35
-
Contract Technical Pre Sales Cyber Security Healthcare Outside IR35 Contract | UK Remote | Healthcare Focus Existing SC clearance is required. Overview Seeking an experienced Technical Pre Sales Cybersecurity Consultant is required to deliver advisory and uplift services across complex healthcare organisations. This Outside IR35 contract operates on a consultancy basis, focused on improving security outcomes, addressing operational pain points, and supporting informed Cyber Security decisions. The role combines deep technical pre sales capability with consultative advisory delivery, working across clinical, technical, and commercial stakeholders to shape effective and proportionate cybersecurity solutions. Responsibilities Provide technical pre sales consultancy across cybersecurity solutions and services within healthcare environments Engage senior stakeholders to understand security challenges, risks, and operational pain points Deliver advisory guidance and uplift recommendations to improve security posture, resilience, and maturity Translate healthcare requirements into clear, outcome focused technical and commercial propositions Act as a trusted technical advisor throughout the pre sales and early engagement lifecycle Produce concise technical documentation, recommendations, and advisory outputs suitable for regulated healthcare settings Experience Strong background in technical pre sales or cybersecurity consultancy Experience working with healthcare or other highly regulated environments Broad understanding of cybersecurity technologies, managed services, and risk based security approaches Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non technical audiences Comfortable operating independently in a client facing advisory role
-
- London Sales Manager, Key Clients. Security. Immediate
- London
- N/A
-
London Sales Manager, Key Clients A senior sales leadership role within the cyber security services and technology market, focused on account development and revenue growth across key clients. You will lead a sales team with responsibility for customer retention, increasing share of wallet and maintaining a strong commercial pipeline. The role works closely with technical, delivery and marketing teams, as well as technology partners. Key focus Lead and coach a field based sales team Own forecasting, pipeline quality and revenue delivery Drive renewals and account development Expand customer investment across services and solutions Build relationships with vendors and partners Background Proven experience managing enterprise sales teams Consistent performance against revenue targets Cyber or IT security sales leadership experience Exposure to Palo Alto, Check Point, Microsoft, etc Commercially focused with a structured sales approach A role for a sales leader focused on long term client value and sustainable growth.
-
- Outside IR35 Functional tester - London - Security Cleared
- London
- Outside IR35
-
Outside IR35 Functional tester - London - Security Cleared Willing to undergo DV Clearance 3 days a week onsite. (London) We are looking for a Functional Test Specialist to support a complex technology programme where accuracy and delivery assurance matter. Key Focus Validate application behaviour and run functional test scenarios Identify risk, defects, and delivery issues early Define practical test approaches and environment needs Produce automated checks where appropriate Work closely with technical teams to agree acceptance criteria Report clearly on outcomes, defects, and risks Experience Needed Strong Microsoft stack exposure Experience supporting server or infrastructure migrations Solid functional testing background Comfortable working remotely onsite (London 3 days a week) Linux or container exposure Jira / Wiki Restricted or isolated environments A hands on role for someone who values clarity, ownership, and quality.