I may have mentioned my involvement, in quite a small way, with the National Cyber Awards and the annual ceremony and presentation of those awards which this year will take place in London on Monday September 25.
It’s quite a glitzy affair, where the great and the good of the world of cyber protection and security meet and greet and celebrate their successes in the ongoing war against hackers and other assorted nasties with bad attitudes, a desire for other people’s money and access to malignant software. Both the guest list and particularly the finalists reflect the incredibly diverse and varied individuals and companies involved and their often very different fields of expertise and interest.
Present and past sponsors, judges and finalists for these awards include IBM, Amazon, PaloAlto, BAE, the National Crime Agency, the National Police Chiefs Council, the Financial Conduct Authority, United Nations, schools and universities, BUPA, the NHS, the NSPCC, the National Trust, military units, journalists and current and former ministers and politicians.
The United Kingdom government has always been invested in cyber security as a concept for the simple and very practical reason that a serious and successful cyber attack could cripple major parts of our infrastructure and in some cases perhaps bring the country to a virtual standstill.
And that rather long preamble explains why at 0745 last Thursday (15th June) I was standing outside Number 10 waiting to be let in and wondering why Larry, the Downing Street cat, appeared to have priority. On the other hand, the cat is a resident and I’m not, so that question is actually irrelevant.
To get past the heavily armed policemen who are a permanent fixture at the end of Downing Street, I required a printed invitation, an invitation that matched the list the officer was holding in his hand, and sight of my driving licence to confirm that my ugly mug bore at least a passing resemblance to the photograph printed on it. That was followed by an airport-style search of everything metal I had in my possession, a scan of my bag and finally my passage through the usual kind of portal.
And hence to the famous black door.
I wasn’t there by myself, but with most of the other National Cyber Awards 2023 judges who will be deciding the winners of the competition, which means which people or companies will be given the plaudits and applause of their colleagues, and even their rivals and competitors, as well as receiving a small non-functioning metal robot to mark their victory.
We were all there for the same reason, to attend as a group – the first time we had all ever been in the same room at the same time – to talk about the Awards Ceremony and more pertinently the judging of the event.
It was an interesting, informative and convivial meeting, made all the more so because of the frankly impressive surroundings. Inside Number 10 it’s like a rabbit warren, with doors opening up in all directions, corridors vanishing into the distance, beautiful wood panelled walls, chandeliers, priceless works of art and wonderful furnishings. Because there were so many of us, we needed a biggish room and were accommodated in the state dining room, sitting around a very long oblong table. We even got coffee and a selection of Downing Street pastries, which were actually rather good.
It’s a busy place, and our time there was limited, so a couple of hours later we walked out of the building before going our separate ways. A hardcore of us, which in this context meant those of us who were the least busy and perhaps the least employed or even least employable in my case, walked down Whitehall until we found a convenient café with enough seating space for the, I think, eight of us who were left. More chat and conviviality, and then the numbers slowly thinned as people with appointments began to drift away.
A most interesting day, and one that I personally enjoyed very much. It’s rather good to be able to begin a sentence with: ‘Well, when I was last at Number10,’ and to actually be telling the truth. But even though I don’t move in the kind of circles where such self-aggrandisement is either common or even tolerated, I do have my own personal triumph that I can drop into a lull in the conversation whenever it seems appropriate.
What I can say with perfect truth is that I’m now on first-name terms with an important and well-respected Downing Street resident who works in the Cabinet Office. What I wouldn’t then add is that his name is Larry and his job is Chief Mouser.
Please visit the website: https://thenationalcyberawards.org/
