Alison Stone will lead efforts to crack down on voluntary sector cyber crime
An organisation which aims to make Scotland a safe place to live, work, and do business has strengthened its links with the voluntary sector.
With cyber attacks on voluntary organisations on the rise, the Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) is strengthening its response to charity sector cyber crime with the appointment of Alison Stone as cyber resilience coordinator for the third sector.
The appointment follows a report from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport which indicated that more than a quarter of voluntary sector organisations experienced a cyber breach or attack in 2020.
Leading the delivery of the Third Sector Cyber Resilience Action Plan, a plan developed by the Scottish Government to help make Scotland’s third sector more cyber resilient, Stone will work with charities and voluntary organisations across the country to build online ingenuity through effective communications, training, and strategic partnerships. Overseeing some 25,000+ registered charities across Scotland, Alison will work to enhance knowledge and understanding of basic cyber skills, as well as educate organisations on best cyber practices and responses to attacks.
In her new position with the SBRC, she will build on work undertaken in her previous role at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), where she was cyber resilience coordinator.
Jude McCorry, chief executive of the SBRC said: “Alison joins the SBRC at a critical time for third sector organisations. Digital technologies are being increasingly adopted across the sector and they hold real opportunity for organisations, their service users, staff and volunteers. However, as we have seen in 2021’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey, a great deal of risk is also associated with this uptake.
“Alison brings a breadth of knowledge and experience in business resilience, but it is her recent work with charities and voluntary organisations that will be particularly useful in helping Scotland’s third sector organisations develop robust cyber practices and effectively manage new threats and vulnerabilities.”
Stone added: “There has been a significant uptake amongst third sector organisations for cyber resilience prevention measures in recent years, but more needs to be done to mitigate the risk from increases in the number of and complexity of cyber attacks. The SBRC has made real progress in promoting the value of cyber resilience, and I look forward to building on their success to further enhance knowledge and understanding in the area to create creating a safer cyber landscape for Scotland’s voluntary organisations.”
With over 20 years of experience working in IT based roles, Stone previously held positions at BB Hobbes and at business continuity and data protection consultancy, 3 Minutes to Midnight, where she provided guidance in GDPR compliance, business and service continuity management, IT reviews including policies and procedures, and training.
