Jersey setting up cyber-threat crack team

Friday 11 December 2020

The Government is setting up a new team that will be the island's main line of defence against hackers, scammers, data thieves and cyber-terrorists.

The ‘Computer Emergency Response Team’, branded CERT for short, is currently recruiting for someone to lead it.

Jersey is keen to avoid the sort of cyber attacks that can cause electrical blackouts, breaches of national security secrets and the theft of valuable and sensitive data.

Denial-of-Service and malware attacks and can also overload phone and computer networks, paralysing systems and making them inoperable.

As well as financial damage, a successful attack can also cause untold reputational damage.

Pictured: Jersey's Government is keen to avoid the sort of cyber attacks that lead to security breaches and the theft of valuable data.

To counter this threat, the Government has earmarked £7.7m over the next four years so spend on cyber-security.

One of its initial moves is to employ a Director of CERT, which is currently being advertised. The job description says that the successful candidate will: “Establish and run the CERT to maintain and strengthen the international reputation of Jersey as a safe place to live and to do business online.”

The Director will have to “build effective partnerships with senior stakeholders in the UK, Europe, other Channel Islands and internationally and represent the interests of Jersey internationally to enhance the reputation of Jersey with relation to cyber security.”

Through the “strategic leadership” of the CERT, he or she will “increase the level of cyber resilience across the island’s critical national infrastructure and business communities and reduce the risk and impact of major cyber incidents in the Jersey."

The Director will be “accountable for the finances of the CERT including all costs, securing funding where necessary and commissioning projects and external consultancy support, to ensure efficient and effective use of resources.”

They will “collaborate with board-level senior executives across the private and public sector to build the cyber capability of organisations across the island and lead the cyber security profession.”

Pictured: The Government is currently looking for a cyber-security tsar to lead the CERT team.

And they will “represent the Bailiwick of Jersey internationally, ensuring the island meets appropriate international standards of best practice in cyber security and maintain and strengthen the island’s international reputation.”

The Director’s salary is not included in the advertisement. Applicants need to have a post-graduate qualification in cyber-security, deep technical expertise and a track record of problem solving and managing teams. The successful candidate will report to a CERT board, which will have political representation. 

In setting up CERT, Jersey is following in the footsteps of many governments around the world: the UK has the National Cyber Security Centre, while in the United States, the job falls to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.