Thales launches critical infrastructure cyber security lab

Thales has set up a cyber security lab dedicated to help improve the security of critical national infrastructure, government and business

Security firm Thales has announced the launch of a cyber security lab dedicated to help improve the security of critical national infrastructure, government and business.

The cyber integration and innovation centre was developed to deal with the pervasive cyber threat facing the UK’s critical national infrastructure by identifying and testing best practice security measures.

The lab will conduct the research necessary to ensure that critical national infrastructure, in particular, can stay one step ahead of the threats.

To support this, the lab will enable the modelling of networks to understand the security implications of proposed changes in a safe environment.

This will enable clients to test their products and systems to the appropriate cyber security standard, before live implementation or launch.

The lab will carry out cyber security research and development, including co-innovation with government, universities, small and medium enterprises, and other businesses.

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Another key role of the lab is to support Thales’s continuous assessment of global cyber security products and technologies and provide advanced training of cyber security professionals.

The lab provides more than 6,000 pieces of malware in a simulated environment to enable trainees to practise protecting systems, spotting vulnerabilities and responding to breaches.

“Cyber security is a pervasive problem that threatens at an individual, organisational and national level,” said Sam Keayes, vice-president for security and consulting at Thales UK.

“The new lab is part of Thales’s response to the growing cyber security threat, which addresses connected cyber, physical and human security vulnerabilities,” he said.

The centre will exchange tools, practices, malware knowledge and threat updates with other Thales cyber security competence centres around the world.

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