Security analysts sound off on government Kitemark scheme

In an effort to foster a respect for cyber security within many of the UK's largest businesses, the British government has now introduced a new Kitemark scheme, which will force any companies that want to do business with the government to meet a strict set of digital security guidelines. Understandably, a fair few companies have something to say about that and today we look at comments made by financial services firm, KPMG.

It's own internal digital security head, Malcolm Marshall, said: “The government isn’t afraid to be at the forefront of mandating cyber security standards in procurement. It’s fair to say that organisational cyber security standards are keenly awaited by the security community and by business at large, but to work effectively they must be pragmatic and recognise the challenges of smaller firms trying to raise their cyber security game.”

No amount of preparation can ready you for the real hackers though

Marshall did suggest though, that these standard implementations by the government shouldn't be considered the final solution for digital defences and that any British scheme should merely build off of international efforts.

“The recent FTSE 350 cyber health check also showed that we have a way to go in raising awareness in the boardroom, helping executives understand the cyber threat and make sensible investment decisions to protect their business,” he said. “The Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership is a good start.  It is important that businesses and government see it as just that, the first step towards frank and timely sharing of information on the rapidly changing cyber threat.”

KitGuru Says: It's good to see the British government taking digital security a bit more seriously, but as Marshall pointed out, the responsibility lies with the firm's themselves to keep on top of it. 

Become a Patron!