Chris Gibson has been named as the head of the UK’s national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT).
Gibson took up his post on 11th November of CERT-UK, which is expected to launch in the New Year. As part of his duties, the new CERT will provide a core incident management response, lead international CERT engagement and provide cyber situational awareness and information sharing for the benefit of the UK as a whole.
Gibson was previously been the director of e-crime at Citigroup and worked for nine years on the leadership team of the international Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST). He is also a member of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) Cyber Advisory Panel.
“I am delighted to join CERT-UK as we enter this exciting phase, with implementation underway and the leadership team now being appointed I am looking forward to the task of bringing together government, industry, law enforcement and academia to establish the CERT as a team of professionals forming a world-class response to cyber threats to the UK,” he said.
Francis Maude, the Minister for Cabinet Office, said: “Chris Gibson brings with him a wealth of experience in cyber incident response in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally. His first-hand knowledge and understanding of cyber security will be invaluable as he leads the national CERT.
“We set out in our national Cyber Security Strategy the importance of strengthening our response to cyber incidents. By establishing CERT-UK we will build on and complement our existing CERT structures. This will help improve national co-ordination of cyber incidents and act as a focus point for international sharing of technical information on cyber security. CERT-UK will be the expert single point of contact for other national CERTs around the globe.”
