The National Cyber Force that Britain Needs?

Panel

Chair: Professor Lady Moira Andrews, Visiting Professor at King’s College London

Amy Ertan, Doctoral Candidate at the Information Security Group, Royal Holloway, University of London

Dr Tim Stevens, Senior Lecturer in Global Security Department of War Studies, King’s College London and head of the KCL Cyber Security Research Group.

Major Juliet Skingsley, Army Chief of General Staff (CGS) Research Fellow in the International Security programme at Chatham House

Marcus Willett, former deputy head of GCHQ and its first Director Cyber

How should the UK counter state threats, terrorism and serious crime in cyberspace? Part of the answer to this question is the recent creation of the National Cyber Force (NCF). Much of the contemporary debate about cyber operations has focused on other actors, most notably the United States and its major cyber adversaries. As cyberspace becomes the site of increasing competition and contest between states, it is important to explore the choices facing a broader range of states, including the UK.

This is an issue of increasing importance to the defence and security of the UK. The offensive cyber decisions facing the government are explored in a new joint report from the Policy Institute and Cyber Security Research Group in the Department of War Studies, King's College London and the Offensive Cyber Working Group. In this event, two of the report's co-authors will discuss its findings with a panel of expert guests. 

The panel discussion will be followed by audience Q&A.

Please register for this event via Zoom.  

About the panel 

Professor Lady Moira Andrews (Chair)

Moira is a lawyer with over 35 years’ experience of the public, private and third sectors. She now runs her own niche law firm, Praetor Legal, specialising in national security and the interface between privacy and the use of cutting-edge technologies. Moira is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London and her areas of expertise include National Security, Ethics, oversight and compliance in intelligence and security operations, Information security and Intelligence, security and justice capacity building.

Amy Ertan (co-author panellist)

Amy Ertan (CISSP) is a Doctoral Candidate at the Information Security Group, Royal Holloway (University of London). She is a non-resident Visiting Scholar at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Security Centre of Excellence, and a Cybersecurity Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs). Her research focuses on the emerging security challenges relating to military innovation, with a focus on “artificial intelligence’-enabled technologies. Amy is a co-director of the Offensive Cyber Working Group and has previously worked in strategic cyber intelligence roles.

Dr Tim Stevens (co-author panellist)

Dr Tim Stevens is Senior Lecturer in Global Security in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London and head of the KCL Cyber Security Research Group. He has published widely on cybersecurity and related issues in academic journals and is a frequent contributor to online, print and broadcast media. He is the author of Cyber Security and the Politics of Time (Cambridge University Press, 2016), co-author of Cyberspace and the State (Routledge, 2011), and co-editor (with Amy Ertan and others) of Cyber Threats and NATO 2030: Horizon Scanning and Analysis (NATO CCD COE, 2020).

Major Juliet Skingsley (expert guest panellist)

Juliet is the Army Chief of General Staff (CGS) Research Fellow in the International Security programme at Chatham House. She commissioned into the British Army in 2012 and currently serves as a lawyer in the Army Legal Services (ALS). She has served in Germany and Afghanistan, and recently served as a legal advisor to the 6th (United Kingdom) Division. Her previous appointments also include serving as a military prosecutor in the Service Prosecuting Authority. Juliet’s research at Chatham House focuses on states' use of offensive cyber operations.

Marcus Willett CB OBE (expert guest panellist)

Marcus has extensive experience of advising governments and companies on cyber, in the UK and internationally. In a 33-year career at the UK’s Government Communications Head Quarters (GCHQ) Marcus rose to become the deputy head of the organisation. He was GCHQ’s first Director Cyber and has led several major UK government cyber initiatives. He has also held posts across the wider UK intelligence and security community, and regularly attended UK National Security Councils. Since leaving government service in 2018, Marcus has been the senior cyber adviser to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a world-leading authority on global security, political risk and military conflict. He advises a range of companies, including being cyber adviser to Global Infrastructure Partners. He is a partner in Wychwood, a firm providing consultancy on geostrategic risk.