Cyber-Insiders-v9-spreads - Flipbook - Page 7
NAVIGATING CYBERSECURITY IN CRITICAL NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE
A
darma recently sat down
with Liz Banbury, Chief
Information Security O昀케cer
(CISO) at Thames Water,
to explore how she leads
cybersecurity strategy in a
sector as vital as water. Liz brings
over two decades of experience
in 昀椀nancial services, where she
successfully steered security
initiatives for organisations like
Hiscox and Standard Chartered.
Now, at Thames Water, she
faces the unique challenge of
safeguarding critical national
infrastructure (CNI) that supports
over 15 million people daily.
Outside of work, Liz also leads
the ISC2 London chapter, a vibrant
community of 2,000 members
dedicated to fostering inclusivity,
collaboration, and mentorship
within the city’s cyber sector. Her
deep expertise in aligning security
with business goals has made
her a trusted leader and advisor
in today’s ever-changing threat
environment.
In this interview, Liz shares her
insights on navigating the water
industry’s distinct regulatory
landscape, the complexities of
building a security culture in a
monopoly environment, and the
critical role of executive buy-in
when driving cybersecurity strategy.
What unique challenges
or similarities have you
encountered between
large 昀椀nancial services
organisations and those
in CNI?
“That’s a big question! I’m only
a few months into my role at
Thames Water, but of course, there
are a lot of similarities. At its core,
cybersecurity is cybersecurity.
A lot of knowledge, skills, and
experience are transferable,
regardless of the industry. So,
it’s fair to say that many of the
challenges a CISO or cybersecurity
practitioner faces are consistent
across sectors.
Like any long-established
organisation, such as Thames
Water or Hiscox, you have to deal
with legacy systems and answer
familiar questions: Do we stay
on-prem or move to the cloud?
How many of our applications
are SaaS? What’s our data centre
strategy? These are all areas I’m
used to navigating. However, there
are some di昀昀erences I couldn’t
have predicted before joining the
water industry.
First, I have to say that the water
industry is truly unique in a
positive way. The people I’ve met
here are amazing, and there’s
a strong sense of purpose that
unites everyone. Unlike many other
sectors, and even some parts
of CNI, we’re delivering essential
services —literally the services
that people cannot live without.
That’s a huge distinction and adds
an extra layer of responsibility to
our cybersecurity e昀昀orts.
ADARMA CYBER INSIDERS
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