NCSC Builds New “Cyber League” Threat Tracking Community

One of the UK’s leading cybersecurity agencies has announced plans to convene a new group of industry experts who will help it track existing and emerging threats to the nation.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said its new Cyber League would bring together both its own and third-party experts to “work on the biggest cyber threats facing the UK.”

Membership is voluntary and up to three individuals in an organization can join, provided they have the relevant experience and knowledge. They will need a “substantial UK connection” and be part of the cybersecurity or threat intelligence industry.

“Members of Cyber League are a diverse group of industry experts, working with NCSC analysts and each other, to bring their unique knowledge and understanding to the threat picture. They take part in a range of engagements, including analytic workshops and discussion groups,” the NCSC explained.

“Their work is a crucial part of improving visibility and tracking existing and emerging threats to the UK.”

Read more on NCSC initiatives: NCSC Announces New Standard For Indicators of Compromise

The initiative will complement the NCSC’s Industry i100 program, where third-party cyber experts are seconded to work at the agency on a part-time basis.

Rapid7 chief scientist and SVP, Raj Samani, welcomed the Cyber League as a way to promote public-private information sharing.

“We currently get bogged down too much in speculation about vulnerabilities and threats. We need to take on a new path and put more value into the open sharing of threat indicators to benefit the mitigation of future incidents,” he added.

“This new Cyber League will act as a great place to boost context-driven threat hunting and innovate how we tackle the rising problem of cybersecurity.”

Earlier this week, new NCSC CTO, Ollie Whitehouse, laid out his immediate priorities in the role, warning the UK needs to be ready for the inevitability of major cyber events.

“We continue to operate in a world of greater competition, instability and contention than we have in over 30 years; a time before which cyber was material,” he warned.

“As such we need to go beyond the excellent work already in place (in the guise of national exercises and Exercise in a Box, et al) and prepare for when the big cyber event hits organizations, the UK, and the globe. Our adversaries, criminal and otherwise, are more aggressive and technically able than ever before, and show no sign of slowing down.”