Oil & Gas UK today hosted a seminar dedicated to cyber security, with industry leaders sharing their knowledge and expertise to help equip and protect the industry for the future.
The event, sponsored by ABB, was held at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC), focused on the increasing threat of digital security, exploring how the UK’s oil and gas sector can manage and mitigate risks to prevent a systems breach or major incident.
Clare Dobson, of the Energy Cyber Security Team at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) delivered the keynote speech, looking at government’s role in mitigating cyber risks from a regulatory and national security perspective.
Speaking after the event, Oil & Gas UK’s Workforce Engagement and Skills Manager Dr Alix Thom said:
“This fantastic event underlined the importance of understanding the risks of cyber security and how they affect our industry today and in the future.
“Cooperation and sharing information within the industry is crucial to help companies collectively respond to emerging threats. It’s also important to learn from other sectors about how they manage risks and ensure safe and sustainable operations.
“Our speakers provided invaluable insight to the audience today, helping to deepen our understanding of new and ever-evolving risks to people, assets and businesses brought about by the digital world.”
The speakers also included Ben Dickinson, Cyber Security Consultant at ABB, Detective Constable Richard Scott, Counter Terrorism Security Adviser at Police Scotland, and Ross McKenzie, Partner at Addleshaw Goddard LLP.
Further speakers were Joe Goodlad, Principal Cyber Security Specialist, at ADC (Aberdeen Drilling Consultants), who discussed how cyber audits are particularly critical on offshore drilling rigs to ensure safe operations and minimise any threat to production, safety and the wider environment.
Francis Lobo, Head of Upstream Oil and Gas Engineering at insurance firm, Canopius, and John Duncan, Senior Advisor Emergency Preparedness & Security, at Total E&P, also shared their knowledge and expertise as part of the event, which consisted of three sessions, each followed by a Q&A with panel discussion.
ENDS