Q&A with Stephen Bailey of NCC Group, Security Excellence Awards finalist

‘We’re proud of our role in shaping national security policy’

NCC Group is a finalist in the Security Team of the Year, Rising Star and Women of the Year categories in Computing’s Security Excellence Awards.

We caught up with Stephen Bailey, Director & Senior Adviser to find out more about NCC Group.

Stephen Bailey has worked at NCC Group for nearly a decade and leads the Global Privacy Services Practice, overseeing client services involving personal data and regulatory reporting. Based in the UK, he specialises in people risk within cyber security and contributed to the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure’s guidance on managing employee risk.

With extensive experience across the EMEA region, Stephen has authored national cyber defence strategies, led security reviews for stock exchanges, managed digital licensing programmes, and held senior roles in the telecommunications sector.

Why do you think awards like the Security Excellence Awards matter? What would winning this award mean to your company?

Awards like the Security Excellence Awards shine a light on the people, projects, and innovation that drive our industry forward. In cyber security, so much of the important work happens quietly behind the scenes—so it’s vital to publicly recognise the individuals and teams who are making a real difference.

These awards highlight the best of the industry, from technical brilliance to creative problem-solving, and showcase those often-unsung contributors who are strengthening cyber resilience. They help raise awareness of what good security looks like and encourage knowledge-sharing across the sector.

Winning would be a meaningful recognition of the extraordinary work our teams have delivered—especially as we mark 25 years of NCC Group. Our people are the heart of our success, and this would honour their technical excellence, resilience, and relentless commitment to protecting organisations and society from evolving cyber threats.

What would you say is your company’s proudest achievement over the past year?

Our proudest achievement from my point of view is the continued delivery of Project Clover with TikTok—an industry-first initiative where NCC Group is the independent third-party security provider to enhance data privacy for millions of TikTok’s European users. It’s a landmark programme that demonstrates trust, innovation, and the impact of cyber assurance at scale. And, most importantly, it aligns with our purpose to create a more secure digital future.

We’re also proud of our role in shaping national security policy and our research contributions, including uncovering critical IoT vulnerabilities and developing tools that support the broader security community.

What have been the biggest challenges of 2025 so far and how have you overcome them? How have your people helped with that?

Economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and increased security concerns have made our role as a trusted security advisor more important than ever. We’ve tackled this by staying laser-focused on our clients’ evolving needs — investing in our managed services, enhancing global delivery, and improving efficiency.

It’s our people who have made the difference—bringing passion, creativity, and technical leadership to every challenge. From advising governments and securing critical national infrastructure to mentoring apprentices and future leaders in our industry, our colleagues have consistently stepped up to drive progress and innovation to ensure that we deliver the very best for our clients as they navigate ‘a new normal’.

How do you think the channel has changed over the past year and what changes do you think it still needs to make?

There’s a growing shift from transactional services to strategic, embedded partnerships focused on resilience and risk reduction. This reflects increasing regulatory pressure and more mature cyber strategies from clients.

However, the channel still needs to simplify security messaging, invest in skills development, and embrace secure-by-design principles—especially as we navigate new technologies like AI and quantum computing. We also need to build a more diverse, inclusive talent pipeline to reflect the complexity of the threats we face

What do you see as the main opportunities for the channel in the coming year?

The opportunity lies in helping organisations move from reactive to proactive security—embedding resilience, visibility, and compliance into digital transformation journeys. With AI, regulation, and cyber risk increasingly on the boardroom agenda, security is a strategic enabler, not just a technical concern.

We’re capitalising on this through our growing Managed Services and Threat Intelligence offerings, deep regulatory expertise, and global delivery model. We’re also investing in partnerships, talent, and innovation—ensuring our clients stay ahead of threats and build secure futures by design.