The appointment of an information security officer is set to help Scottish local authorities guard against the increasing risk of sophisticated cyber-attacks.
The Scottish Digital Office for Local Government has appointed Andy Grayland to be the new Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), a role which will involve helping councils improve digital security.
A former Information Systems Security Professional in the Ministry of Defence, Mr Grayland will support local authorities in delivering against the goals of the ‘Cyber Resilience Strategy for Scotland’, the ‘National Cyber Security Strategy and the recently announced ‘Scottish Government Action Plan on Cyber Resilience.’
He will also work with chief executive officers and council management teams to ensure cyber security threats and vulnerabilities are proactively managed at the highest levels of their organisations.
‘Threats from cyberspace are all-pervading and as more and more high-profile breaches are discovered, public perception of organisations who fail to protect their valuable data will be negatively impacted,’ Mr Grayland said. ‘Scotland has a long history of innovation and being at the leading edge of new technologies on a global stage. I return to Scotland, and this new role, with the goal of ensuring that we can continue this trend.’
Martyn Wallace, chief digital officer for Scotland, said: ‘In the current climate of evermore sophisticated cyber-attacks that private and public sector experience day-to-day, Andy and his experience is a great asset for the Digital Partnership to accelerate and enhance our cyber credentials.’
