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CyberVersed

CyberVersed

By: National Cyber Resilience Centre Group
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The podcast from those well-versed in all things cyber. Mandy Haeburn-Little, Cyber Woman of the Year 2021, in conjunction with the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group (NCRCG), brings listeners access to strategic conversations with industry leaders and figures in the UK's cyber resilience landscape. With a changing roster of high-profile guests from across policing, government, academia and business, stay tuned for the latest in the UK's cyber security landscape. The NCRCG is a non-profit organisation set up to strengthen the reach and future of cyber resilience in the UK, funded and supported by the Home Office, policing and Ambassador partners.2023 Economics Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Episode 54 - Cybercrime in transport

    Episode 54 - Cybercrime in transport
    Sep 2 2026
    In episode 54, Mandy Haeburn-Little and her guests are quick to point out how transportation, whether we appreciate it or not, touches everyone daily; that's what makes this edition of CyberVersed such a compelling listen and a must-listen for all business owners and operators. Mandy is joined by Robin Till, Technical Account Manager, Risk Solutions at Aviva, George Swindell, Cyber Risk Consultant at Aviva, and Harry Hughes, Managing Director at FET Logistics Ltd and TAPA EMEA Regional Lead. The conversation is a fascinating look at the challenges and threats facing the transport industry, citing real-life examples of recent cyber incidents. It also offers excellent guidance on using openly available information and AI to quickly identify potential red flags that could save transport companies hundreds of thousands of pounds. Robin begins by reinforcing and explaining the importance of transport, its role in everyday life, and why it is an integral part of Aviva's business. He outlines the complexity of transportation, from international freight to last-mile delivery, and now the impact and challenges created by next-day delivery. However, he also notes that, to do the topic justice, this podcast primarily focuses on road transport and road networks. Harry Hughes explains TAPA and the services it provides to its members, which include globally published standards and intelligence sharing. He also outlines why TAPA is working closely with Aviva and discusses the scale of the challenge that cyber is posing to the transport industry. He also shares some of the common threats and attacks they are seeing today and how organised crime gangs are increasingly using cybercrime to commit freight theft. George Swindell then discusses common incidents they are seeing today, such as phishing emails, social engineering, and business email compromise. In particular, he explains why business email compromise is potentially the most powerful method used by cybercriminals to commit a wide range of criminal activities. Strategic theft, such as that linked to freight exchange practices, is one of the fastest-growing forms of theft, and Robin highlights some of the methods used by organised criminal gangs. He also applauds Rachel Taylor MP's current attempt to introduce a Freight Crime Bill in Parliament. He clearly explains why such a Bill will help redress the imbalance between risk and reward currently enjoyed by criminal gangs involved in freight theft. Robin also highlights how the physical nature of freight crimes is affecting driver recruitment, a growing concern for the transport industry. Talking about another worrying trend, Harry cites a recent example in which an organised criminal gang purchased a logistics company with an excellent pedigree and used their reading history to steal large volumes of valuable products before disappearing. He also notes that these products are increasingly returning to their originally intended supply chains. On a similar vein, Robin refers to the recent theft of a large consignment of KitKats; however, he praises Nestlé's response and how they used the unfortunate experience to create something positive. George and Robin round out this episode by sharing some extremely valuable tips on how to use AI to quickly perform due diligence that identifies red flags using very basic, openly available information. They encourage logistics companies to empower their staff to spend a comparatively small amount of time using these tools to perform checks that could ultimately save hundreds of thousands of pounds in losses. The conversation demonstrates how critical the transport industry is to the UK economy; the crimes and current threats are so widespread that a second edition of the podcast is already planned to ensure these significant threats receive adequate exposure.
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    43 mins
  • Episode 53 - Ambassador Focus - Resilience

    Episode 53 - Ambassador Focus - Resilience
    Jul 8 2026

    In episode 53 of CyberVersed, Mandy Haeburn-Little is joined by Tom Egglestone, Head of Claims, International at Resilience.

    After a short introduction to Resilience from Tom, Mandy and he go on to discuss a range of topics around cyber insurance, the trends the company has witnessed across their client base recently, and some of the issues and challenges Tom predicts companies will face now and in the future.

    Tom begins by noting that cybercrime trends often align with geopolitics, citing a shift in the nature of cybercrime evident around the start of the war in Ukraine.

    The conversation then explores insurance cover and how cyber insurance differs from traditional insurance, given its relative newness and the need for the cover to reflect current cybercrime trends. Tom explains the challenges of determining what type of cover you need, but he does offer SMEs guidance on the baseline cover they must consider.

    Mandy then quizzes Tom on what surprises him about the nature of the claims, to which Tom comments on how quickly trends change and how quickly cybercriminals can act to exploit vulnerabilities. He also talks about the rapid rise in Infostealers that collect information and steal Session Tokens, and how these are being used to help cybercriminals gain entry to systems.

    Mandy asks Tom whether some of the recent high-profile attacks have influenced insurance uptake, especially among the SME community; Tom believes it has an impact, but he also highlights the low uptake of cyber insurance among smaller companies, and suggests that the cyber insurance industry needs to do more to promote the value of cyber insurance to the SME community. However, he acknowledges that many SMEs still believe it won't happen to them because they mistakenly think cybercriminals focus on large organisations.

    The conversation then moves to the business lifecycle and whether there are different stages when a business might be more vulnerable. Tom offers some interesting thoughts on this and explains the different types of vulnerabilities a business might encounter as it grows from a micro business to a small business. He also offers valuable advice on the basics and on how following NCSC's guidance can significantly improve an SME's cyber resilience.

    Tom also discusses reporting and the need to encourage more of it. He shares his thoughts on why the reporting rate is low and on some of the challenges faced by victims of cybercrime. He cites 'Ransomware: Victim Insights on Harms to Individuals, Organisations and Society', a paper by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Tom recommends the paper for valuable insights into the psychological and long-lasting impact of ransomware attacks.

    Tom also talks about AI attacks and how cybercriminals are currently using AI, especially to make phishing attacks much harder to detect. However, he counters this by once again highlighting why having the basics in place makes a significant difference to your cyber resilience.

    The conversation rounds off by exploring the supply chain, what SMEs need to do to understand the vulnerabilities in their supply chain, and assessing the impact an attack on a supplier's system would have on their own business.
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    31 mins
  • Episode 52 - National Ambassador Focus - MBDA

    Episode 52 - National Ambassador Focus - MBDA
    Jun 10 2026
    In episode 52 of CyberVersed, Mandy Haeburn-Little is joined by Claire Burgess, Procurement and Supply Chain Cyber Security Manager at our newest National Ambassador company, MBDA. MBDA is a European defence company which designs, develops and manufactures military technology for air, land and naval forces. Currently, they have close to 20,000 employees across Europe at facilities in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain, and MBDA UK's primary customer is the Ministry of Defence. The company is committed to providing the best possible military capability to help protect national security. This year is the company's 25th anniversary, but their vision is unchanged; they want to be the European champion and global player, which is supported by their core values, which are Commitment, Passion, Innovation, Integrity, and Team Spirit. Throughout the conversation, Claire explains how these values are applied daily across the company. Claire and Mandy also discuss MBDA's supply chain, the need for stringent security controls due to the complexity of its products, and the sensitivity of its information. There is also a need to build robust, long-term relationships given the product's lifespan, and the requirement that 25% of their Tier 1 suppliers are UK-based. It is a fascinating conversation that provides an excellent insight into the particular supply chain challenges in the defence sector. Claire also explains their supportive, collaborative approach to the supply chain and how they work hard to support them and help them navigate what can be a long, complex process to become a supplier. She explains why they believe they have a responsibility to help them understand the process by speaking to them in layman's terms. She also explains that the support is an ongoing provision and how they help suppliers by encouraging them to focus on what they are trying to protect and to identify the real value in the business. Ensuring they have an incident management plan and excellent communication are two simple but critical factors they highlight and assist suppliers to understand. Claire's passion for cyber is evident throughout the conversation, nowhere more so than when she shares a recent example of presenting to young people at her daughter's school during STEM week. Indeed, she is keen to encourage more people into cyber; her message is "just go for it". Mandy also enquires about their reasons for joining as a National Ambassador, to which Claire had more than one answer. Firstly, there was the prospect of sharing experiences with a very diverse group of fellow National Ambassadors whom she has already found to be very collaborative and supportive of one another; she is already genuinely moved by the group's passion. Secondly, she was overwhelmed by the Cyber PATH students' presentation skills and knowledge; she already fully intends to explore recruitment through the programme. Finally, the work done by the CRC Network and how they engage with the SME community. It's an open conversation that's well worth a listen, and we thank Claire for her passion and the time she committed to sharing a bit about MBDA.
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    23 mins
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