Member Article

Sellafield signs up to join the North West Cyber Resilience Centre Guidance Council

The North West Cyber Resilience Centre (NWCRC) has announced that Sellafield, the UK’s facility that deals with the country’s highest nuclear risks and hazards to safeguarding nuclear fuel, materials and waste, has joined its Guidance Council. Chief information security officer Richard Meal at Sellafield Ltd will join the board of experts, dedicated to helping businesses across the North West protect against cyber crime.

The Guidance Council board brings their collective expertise and industry knowledge to work with the NWCRC in helping businesses across the region protect themselves against the growing threat of cyber crime. The NWCRC Guidance Council is led by Andrew Snowden, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire. Existing Guidance Council members include leaders from Siemens, Irwin Mitchell, Northrop Grumman, Manchester Digital and Salesforce.

Richard Meal, chief information security officer, of Sellafield Ltd, said of the announcement: “I am delighted to support the NWCRC and hope that my experiences within nuclear, other industries and defence will be a valuable contribution.”

Detective Inspector Dan Giannasi, head of cyber and innovation at the NWCRC, said: “We are pleased to welcome Richard Meal from Sellafield Ltd to join our Guidance Council. As the threat of cybercrime for businesses grows, we are bringing businesses and experts together with the police and other public sector bodies to work together and share knowledge. Richard’s experience and expertise of working at Sellafield will be hugely valuable to our Guidance Council and our members.”

Working with the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU), the NWCRC is part of a nationwide network of nine regional Cyber Resilience Centres. The NWCRC’s role is to support small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and third-sector organisations to reduce their vulnerability to cybercrime.

The NWCRC was set up in Greater Manchester in 2019 as a pilot scheme to support businesses in the region with the growing threat of cybercrime and cyber fraud. It was so successful that it was expanded for the North West region, rolled out to other areas across England and Wales, and included in the HM Government National Cyber Strategy 2022. As a result, the NWCRC membership continues to grow at pace year on year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Carolyn Hughes .