The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has been reinforcing to organisations within the nuclear industry the importance of implementing effective cyber security strategies.
ONR has delivered the first of a series of boardroom level briefings that it hopes to roll out to other dutyholders across the sector.
The first session was held last week at National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and highlighted how regulatory intelligence shows that many cyber security issues can be mitigated if an organisation’s leadership, governance and culture for cyber security are successfully driven at board level.
Robust cyber security arrangements within the UK nuclear industry are integral to safeguard sensitive information and assets and to ensure ongoing legal compliance for their protection.
NNL’s board and executives heard from Paul Shanes, ONR’s Professional Lead for Cyber Security, about the link between regulatory expectations and the industry’s commitments within the recently published Civil Nuclear Cyber Security Strategy.
ONR were supported by colleagues from Accenture, led by Mark Raeburn, Managing Director of Accenture Security, who were on hand to provide perspectives from a range of other sectors across the UK’s critical national infrastructure.
Paul Howarth, Chief Executive Officer of NNL, said: “The board and executives found the session with the ONR extremely valuable.
“Understanding how we can continue to leverage our processes and initiatives to manage and mitigate evolving cyber risks has been hugely beneficial.
“This type of work supports the commitments made by the entire nuclear civil sector as part of the recent Civil Nuclear Cyber Security Strategy.”
Paul Shanes, ONR’s Professional Lead for Cyber Security, said: “These sessions demonstrate our enabling approach to regulation.
“We look forward to engaging with more boards and executive teams to drive further improvements in cyber security.
“This is key to deliver our mission to protect society by securing safe nuclear operations.”