RHUL Cyber CDT Blog

A recent research report by CDT researchers Amy Ertan and Georgia Crossland has been published with the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security (RISCS). The report examines ‘The Impact of Pandemic-Driven Remote Working on Employee Wellbeing, the Psychological Contract and Cyber Security’, with research carried out through a series of interviews with senior cyber security colleagues between January and April 2021. The full report can be found on the RISCS website: New publication: Remote Working and (In)Security | RISCS. Context In the UK and around the world, the impact of COVID-19 represented a total shift away from what was considered ‘normal living’. One aspect of this change was the rapid transition to remote working as people were encouraged to work from home and limit contact with others as far as possible through repeated lockdown conditions. Fellow CDT colleague Georgia Crossland and I were curious to explore how remote working has impacted the experiences - and se...

 10:07am, 28 June. Alphaland Health Services is hit by a major ransomware attack, taking down key computer systems throughout the country’s health services, and potentially impacting a critical vaccine manufacturer. Teams representing a range of organisations, from the President’s Office down to ISPs and threat intelligence firms, scramble to work out what is going on, and how to respond to this threat. In a rapidly changing environment, the teams frantically communicate with each other in a desperate attempt to identify the perpetrators and stop further attacks from happening. But when indications point to the militaristic neighbouring state of Bravoland, how will they respond? Will the teams feel they have enough reliable information to launch a counterattack? Or will the doubts from some groups be enough to prevent all-out war? That was the situation facing attendees on the first morning of this year’s joint CDT summer school, a three-day event predominantly run by a team of CDT...