CESG and CREST reveal first companies to be certified for Cyber Incident Response schemes

BAE Systems Detica, PwC, Verizon UK are some of the companies selected to help firms deal with cyber attacks

The Communications Electronics Security Group (CESG) and the Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers (CREST) have announced the first batch of companies who will be certified under the two Cyber Incident Response schemes, which ultimately aim to help organisations deal with cyber-attacks.

CESG, the information security arm of British spy agency GCHQ and the Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), had piloted the scheme in November 2012, with BAE Systems Detica, security providers Cassidian, Context IS and Mandiant all taking part, leading to the launch of the scheme in August 2013.

The pilot found that two schemes were needed; the first is a government-run Cyber Incident Response scheme, which deals with targeted attacks against networks of national significance.

The companies selected to provide the expertise for this scheme are: BAE Systems Detica, Context, Mandiant, MWR InfoSecurity and Dell SecureWorks.

Alex Fidgen, director at MWR InfoSecurity, said that the scheme should help to fill a skills gap within both industry and government.

"Incident response skills are currently in short supply and there is an increasing need of genuine, proven capability in this area - particularly in an age of increasingly complex cyber-attacks," he said.

"This scheme will help to professionalise this part of the industry and provide businesses and the government with accredited services and qualified professionals," he added.

Meanwhile Martin Sutherland, managing director BAE Systems Detica explained that no matter what kind of cyber-attack an organisation faces, the scheme will remind firms of the agility with which attackers operate and the need for "an even more agile and fast response to combat the threat".

"Whether cyber attackers have been covertly conducting reconnaissance in an organisation's network for months, or whether they have just breached the defences, once the intruder is discovered, organisations understandably want to take immediate action to mitigate their risk exposure," he said.

The second of the two schemes is a broad-based approach led by CREST and endorsed by GCHQ and CPNI. It focuses on the standards that are necessary for organisations of all sectors including industry, the public sector and academia.

The first four companies to have been accredited under CREST's Cyber Incidient Response Scheme are BAE Systems Detica, MWR InfoSecurity, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Verizon UK.

"The CSIR scheme gives the buying community confidence in the integrity and competence of the CREST certified companies they can turn to for help following an attack," said Ian Glover, president of CREST.

"I congratulate all of the companies that have now been accredited because it certainly hasn't been a trivial, box ticking matter. The bar has to be set high if we are to ensure that cyber security incidents are dealt with properly and effectively," he added.