Cyber Roundtable: Leading security experts reflect on the recent upsurge in attacks - and what can be done to prevent them

By Kathryn McKenna 

Senior representatives from a selection of Northern Ireland’s leading companies came together recently to address the recent upsurge in cyber-attacks and what can be done to prevent them.  

Hosted in Citi’s five-floor Gateway Building, pertinent items on the agenda for discussion include: AI’s role in cybersecurity; career prospects in cyber; challenges in tech hiring; and a call for better marketing and collaboration amongst tech companies and universities locally. 

Those taking part included: Carla McGlynn, Managing Director, Head of Markets Business Controls Technology and Tech Site Lead of hosting company Citi Belfast; Andrew Connolly, Executive Director Collaboration Tools and Corporate Systems and Belfast Site Lead, CME Group; Alan Stock, Site Lead, Agio Belfast; Bobby McKeown, Director of Software Engineering, Rapid7; and Jonathan White, Senior Director of Engineering, Liberty IT.  

Pictured: Carla McGlynn, Managing Director, Head of Markets Business Controls Technology and Tech Site Lead of hosting company Citi Belfast

The rise of cyber-attacks due to increased digital connectivity and the proliferation of digital channels is highlighted as a major concern by the representatives in attendance, with emphasis placed on the need for employees to be aware of what they are posting online – particularly when it involves the company they work for. Therefore education, awareness and training in cyber security is therefore key, implemented through employment policies and training.  

Speaking from Liberty IT’s perspective, Jonathan White reflects on the increasing number of connectivity points resulting from the proliferation of digital channels and IT devices. This is leading to lots of attacks from many different channels, including phishing through email, text messages and voice, which is becoming particularly prevalent. Cyber is now being used as a weapon, whereas previously attacks would have been used to capture data for malicious purposes. Attacks, including the various ransomware and malware attacks taking place, are designed to cause maximum disruption and occur regularly. Jonathan comments: “With the number of digital channels we have now, and the number of devices that exist, the attack landscape has increased hugely which has definitely contributed to the upsurge of attacks society is currently experiencing.” 

Rapid7 reports an increase in ransomware groups, revealing in 2024 alone they have witnessed 21 new groups so far, with one specific group responsible for 474 leaks alone in the first half of this year. Bobby McKeown also reveals the startling statistic that 41 per cent of incidents stem from missing or unenforced multi-factor authentication, which is a major vulnerability.  

Bobby comments: “We are seeing really simple root causes but potentially the biggest vulnerability is a lack of multi-factor authentication. It should be your first step in ensuring your company reduces its exposure to potential attacks.” 

Pictured: Jonathan White, Senior Director of Engineering, Liberty IT

There are also more sophisticated forms of phishing emerging, with Carla McGlynn highlighting that with the move to Open Source; AI; and more applications moving to the Cloud, the team at Citi see vulnerabilities in these areas and therefore act consistently by following best practice closely. “Citi has put extra guardrails around what we are trying to achieve in this space,” Carla explains.  

Alan Stock feels the upsurge in cyber-attacks in recent years is due to the monetization and the fact cyber-attacks have become almost mainstream. “You can target high-net worth individuals, high-profile individuals or organisations and a lot of companies do pay ransomware demands,” Alan explains, adding organisations need to be constantly aware of what they are putting out online.“There is more enhanced visibility now for attackers who are looking at what you are posting online.” 

Stopping cyber-attacks 

Tasked with the question of what more can be done to educate companies, and even individuals, against the threat of cyber-attacks, Alan emphasizes the importance of education. Not only does it have to be baked into policies in terms of acceptable use of Gen AI, social media platforms, internet,email and more, but the policies also need to be clearly enforced. This can be done through regular checks and running cyber awareness seminars to the point of culturally embedding cyber awareness in an organisation. “Getting people to take responsibility is first and foremost,” Alan explains.  

Pictured: Alan Stock, Site Lead, Agio Belfast

The damage to brand reputation is extensive, with Bobby outlining the stark reality that the cost of recovery from a cyber-attack can be far greater - both financially and reputationally - than putting the measures in place to prevent an attack from occurring. 

To this end, Andrew Connolly highlights how vital real-world examples are when it comes to training around cyber security. “Giving real-world examples makes it real for your staff, so they appreciate examples of what has happened to companies out there,” Andrew outlines. “Seeing the consequences and impact on the business makes people truly understand what it is we're fighting against and trying to protect the business from.” 

At Citi all training is mandatory, with regular spot checks containing cyber threats, including phishing, forming an integral part of employees’ everyday goals, making it a fundamental part of Citi culture. Cyber security is not just one department’s responsibility, agrees Jonathan, revealing the ethos at Liberty IT is that it is everybody’s role to be a responsible defender.   

“Attacks get more and more sophisticated. Therefore, the simulations we conduct need to get more and more sophisticated,” Jonathan explains. “We bake it into everyone’s goals and objectives because cyber-security is not something that is a ‘nice to have’ it is a must-have.” 

Pictured: Bobby McKeown, Director of Software Engineering, Rapid7

Andrew agrees, adding that as recently as 10 years ago it would have fallen solely to the security team to manage all aspects of cyber-security – however it is now the responsibility of everyone. “A lot of companies are investing a lot more in training in terms of cyber-attacks, but also security awareness in terms of some of the appliances and techniques that exist to make sure there is an awareness across the entire company,” Andrew explains. 

Another key element of preventing cyber-attacks from occurring is by ensuring engineers are putting security first when they are designing applications. It is therefore crucial to support engineers by implementing best practices, which are constantly changing. “Best practice is constantly evolving, so staying up-to-date is essential to ensure engineers have everything at their disposal to be able to develop and design secure applications from the outset,” comments Jonathan.  

In terms of prevention, Alan emphasizes the importance of risk management when it comes to external suppliers. “Even if you've got good internal practices, how strong are your third party suppliers, your vendors, your software providers, because ultimately, that's probably where the weak link is. It is your responsibility to make sure you do your due diligence on those before you bring them on board and regularly update them,” Alan comments.  

As a thriving hub for cyber in Northern Ireland, the attendees explore if more could be done as a tech community to develop and share simulations. “As a thriving tech community with extensive thought leadership pieces authored from Northern Ireland experts in their field, perhaps we would benefit from pulling our resources and expertise and collaborating more in the future,” comments Jonathan.  

AI’s impact on cyber-security 

AI’s advancing role in cyber-security, particularly regarding its unique potential to enhance both defences and attacks, is described as a double-edged sword.  

AI can analyse large volumes of data and identify patterns that can be used for automated responses. But it can make attackers more sophisticated in terms of their phishing emails, and more sophisticated in general, in terms of their attacks. One aspect under the microscope is the software engineering side, including the use of GitHub CoPilot. Questions are being raised as to the potential impact of using code which did not originate inside the company. Jonathan comments: “I think it is vital to ensure all of the appropriate checks and balances are in place to make sure that if engineers are using CoPilot, that we are maintaining our highest levels of security at every stage of the software development lifecycle.” 

However, with time being one of the most important commodities in cyber, the time saved through AI by assisting analysts with administrative tasks are expected to have significant benefits, with Bobby explaining it will likely prove “invaluable” in time. 

Citi are making great progress in terms of what their technology team is achieving with AI, which is monitored due to being in financial services and closely regulated: “We are doing a lot in document analysis and have a whole programme of work monitoring what we are doing in the AI space, therefore it is going through all of the appropriate checks and guard-rails. There will always be a human in the loop in the cyber space, but AI will speed us up,” Carla comments. 

Comparing AI and cyber-security to a ‘chicken and an egg situation,’Andrew reflects thatwhilst AI allows us to enhance the threat detection and predictive analysis from teams protecting our various companies, on the opposite end of the scale AI allowsour adversaries to develop more sophisticated attacks. “It is a constant game of us upping our defences and the attackers upping their capabilities,” Andrew comments. 

Pictured: Andrew Connolly, Executive Director Collaboration Tools and Corporate Systems and Belfast Site Lead

AI is not a silver bullet, with effort needed to determine some of the problem spaces where AI can make a difference in order to implement it appropriately and most effectively in order to skill-up. But strong foundations must already exist, explains Jonathan, in order to allow AI to build on them. “AI has become a catalyst to ensure that companies have the basic strong foundations in place to be able to use AI. In this sense, AI has added momentum. AI is not going to replace jobs, but if we utilise it correctly we will be better in our jobs.This applies as much as it does for a software engineer as it does to someone working generally in the cyber-space.” 

Benefits of a career in cyber 

There are plenty of opportunities within a career in cyber, and it is important to select the right track for you within it, explains Alan. “Find your speciality within cyber and really focus on it, because there are lots of different interesting elements within it,” he comments. 

Career opportunities are not limited to cyber – but include all of the roles supporting the company, from software engineering to finance, HR and more. “You don’t need to necessarily come in as a cyber specialist to avail of all the exciting opportunities within cyber,” Bobby explains. 

With it being such an exciting time within engineering and a pivotal point in the industry, from software to cyber, it is certainly an exciting time to get into the field. Particularly, as Andrew of CME Group explains, it is the one area across all aspects of business that is growing exponentially and a skillset which is particularly in demand. Furthermore, if you begin a career in cyber and decide not to pursue a specialist career within the route, the skills you will have acquired from a cyber perspective are foundational. “Cyber is key within any role in technology now, so you will have gained invaluable skills,” Andrew explains. 

Gen AI in particular is hailed as helping to make technology careers more accessible than ever before. For example, in Citi there are many people who are not technologists who are moving into the Gen AI space because they want to upskill and move into software development. This has led to greater opportunities for training and career development internally within the company.  

Carla explains that all roles in Citi are global, with 40 per cent of the roles in Belfast existing within the technology business. Many representatives agree that perhaps pooling resources in order to more effectively market Belfast as the tech leader it is in order to attract talent at top leadership level rather than having to pool from London, Dublin and further afield would be beneficial.  

Meanwhile the graduate intake is absolutely critical for Liberty IT, as it is for many others. Jonathan says it is an extremely interesting time due to the recent graduates’ knowledge of future technologies and literacy with AI and Gen AI and using all the new tools and technologies. Domain knowledge and experience meanwhile is more important than ever. “Overall, it is an extremely interesting time for cyber and technology in Northern Ireland as a whole,” comments Jonathan.  

From a CME Group perspective, Andrew applauds the local universities, explaining that being a member of the Employee Advisory Board for Queen’s and Ulster University allows CME Group to help map out company needs from a business perspective going forward. Being able to reflect the cyber needs in the university courses allows the pipeline of talent coming through to be tailored for the needs of local businesses. “This side of things is key to building and moving forward,” explains Andrew.  

Pictured: Cyber Roundtable takes place at Citi Belfast

Meanwhile, Carla highlights the continued importance of role models in the workplace, particularly at senior level, who remain hands-on in terms of technology. “The junior generation coming in are extremely tech savvy, but they still need role models. 

“Company culture and how we lead teams is still really important with the technical slant. We talk about engineering excellence, best practices in code, and we need someone senior in those roles. People need someone to look up to and I think that is really important.” 

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