With almost 3,000 members, the Cyber Resilience Centre for Wales (WCRC) is continuing to make strong inroads within the region’s business community, providing ongoing support and guidance in the fight against cybercrime.

And it isn’t a solo mission, the WCRC works hard to consolidate its efforts through partnerships such as its Community Ambassador membership, working collaboratively with other, impactful organisations committed to securing a safer economic landscape for Wales.

Director of the WCRC, Paul Peters says, “The need for Welsh organisations to understand the increasing threat from cybercrime and the importance of improving their cyber resilience is critical. To achieve this, we need assistance in driving awareness and encouraging positive action for improving organisations’ cyber posture across Wales. By bringing on board well-established and high-profile organisations through the Community Ambassador programme we are able to reinforce the work we are already doing to engage with the Welsh business community and advance it even further.

“We currently have eight excellent organisations signed up as members; Cartrefi Cymru Co-op, Centre for Digital Public Services, FOR Cardiff, Tai Calon Community Housing, Cybersecurity Information Networks Centre, Exercise3, Corassure, Cyber Innovation Hub (CIH), all of which offer a range of expertise, resource and insights that are essential for helping Wales become a much safer place to operate in business with successful, long-term futures. This really is about making a difference.”

So, the WCRC spent some time with some of the centre’s Community Ambassador members to find out from them what it’s really all about and why they joined.

First up is Mark Davies, Head of Business Improvement and IT at Tai Calon Community Housing, a not-for-profit, community mutual organisation and Blaenau Gwent’s largest social housing provider, with nearly 6,000 homes.

·       What prompted you to become a Community Ambassador member?

We were initially recommended by one of our board members to join. We’ve not regretted it and have renewed our membership for several years.

·       Have you noticed an increase in the level of cybercrime activity over the course of the last year eg. receiving more phishing emails?

It is hard to say whether there is more activity than in previous years, as we try to evolve our software in turn, which intercepts some activity automatically. We are certainly very aware of the risks and threats in this area though and are always looking for new ways to improve and the WCRC is very useful in this respect.

·       What benefits have you experienced since joining as a WCRC Community Ambassador?

The main benefit has been the opportunity to attend WCRC-organised events, providing the opportunity to meet with other organisations. We also use the website as a valuable source of information.

·       Has your organisation increased its understanding of cyber security since becoming a member?

Being a member has helped us to consider security more holistically. We already had a suite of protections and perform regular tests like penetration tests and phishing simulations but by utilising the WCRC services and guidance we’ve been able to think outside the box a bit more. Membership has helped in other ways too. We are looking at how we can ensure our suppliers are secure, and having the opportunity to meet people from other sectors and understand their approach to IT has also been useful.

Mark concludes: “I think it adds value by being a source of useful information, providing a focal point for businesses in Wales to improve their security; and there are a range of useful services available. The events that are now being set up are both informative and high quality. I’ve got a lot of value from them and would expect that most organisations would too.”

We will be finding out more from our other ambassadors, For Cardiff, Corassure and Exercise 3 so stay tuned…

Learn more about becoming a Community Ambassador and if you’re organisation is interested in signing up for this membership programme, please get in touch.