UK’s first national security operations centre launches in Wales

The UK’s first national security operations centre has opened in Wales. The scheme aims to protect Welsh local authorities and fire and rescue services from cyberattacks.

Led by the Welsh Government, in collaboration with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, CymruSOC (Security Operations Centre) will help ensure key organisations can continue offering critical services without disruption due to cyberattacks.

The SOC service, which will be managed by Cardiff-based firm, Socura, will help to safeguard the data of the majority of the Welsh population, as well as 60,000 employees across the public sector.

First Minister, Vaughan Gething (pictured at the launch of the Cyber Action Plan for Wales) said: “The challenges people across Wales have faced in recent years due to the pandemic have shown the importance of digital in our lives. It has become central to the way we learn, work, access public services and do business. However, our reliance on digital, has also led to a stark increase in the risk of cyber-attacks which are becoming ever more common and sophisticated.

“CymruSOC is a first of its kind solution with social partnership at its heart – ensuring we take a ‘defend as one’ approach. It’s a vital part of our Cyber Action Plan for Wales, which – one year since its launch – is making good progress to protect public services and strengthen cyber resilience and preparedness.”

Sharing threat intelligence

The Socura SOC team will monitor for potential threats such as phishing and ransomware from its 24/7 remote SOC.

In conjunction with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), CymruSOC will also share threat intelligence information to ensure they are aware of emerging risks.

“By sharing a SOC, and threat intel, across all Welsh local authorities, even the smallest Welsh town will now have the expertise and defences of a large modern enterprise organisation,” said Socura CEO Andy Kays.

“People rely on their local council at every stage of their life. It’s where they register a birth, apply for schools, housing, and marriage licences, which makes them a prized target for financially motivated cybercriminal groups as well as nation state actors seeking to cause disruption to critical infrastructure.

“It is our job to ensure that these critical services remain unaffected by cybercriminals’ attempts to steal data and cause disruption.”

18 local authorities signed up

Leader of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, councillor Geraint Thomas, said the close collaboration between the Council and Welsh Government has been a key factor in the success of the project. 

“Merthyr Tydfil’s approach to cybersecurity has always been innovative so I’m really pleased that as the contracting authority, we continue to lead this work on behalf of the CymruSOC member bodies, and other Welsh Public Sector bodies that wish to utilise the CymruSOC going forward. 

“It provides some reassurance to the population of Wales that if they use their Local Authority for any kind of service, then CymruSOC will provide additional support and protection to enhance existing cybersecurity controls”.

 The CymruSOC program is scheduled to run for three years, and Socura is onboarding the first member bodies now. Eighteen of Wales’ 22 local authorities are currently signed up to use CymruSOC. The remaining four are currently utilising their own SOC service.