6 August 2019 – London, UK – Crossword Cybersecurity plc (AIM: CCS), has today announced that Stevenage Borough Council, Peterborough City Council and East Hertfordshire District Council (‘the Councils’), will use Rizikon Assurance to manage compliance with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) with their suppliers and for wider information governance.
GDPR makes many requirements of organisations, including taking adequate steps to ensure data is both encrypted and anonymised, so that in the event of a breach, the data cannot be exploited. Infringements under GDPR can lead to fines of €20 million, or 4% of annual global turnover for an organisation.
With a combined residential population of over 430,000, the Councils have a duty to ensure that the personal information of all residents is adequately protected against the risk of data breach, either by the Councils themselves or the third-party suppliers and agencies with which they work. Data breaches can be accidental, through the loss of a laptop for example, or as a result of an intentional breach or cyber-attack.
Using Rizikon Assurance, the Councils will improve the process and accuracy of securing third party assurance. This will support compliance with GDPR, and establish a way to manage on-going assurance checks when needed at regular intervals. Additionally, the Councils will be in a position to identify GDPR risk exposure across their supplier portfolio, so that remedial action can be taken to improve the protection of citizen data.
Jake Holloway, Director responsible for Rizikon Assurance, commented: “The role of every public service organisation is to serve its citizens, often holding personal information about them on many sensitive topics such as health, benefits and education. With that comes the responsibility of ensuring that information is protected, especially when it needs to be shared with partner organisations. Rizikon Assurance will help any organisation dramatically improve the speed and reliability of its third-party assurance processes, covering areas such as GDPR, health & safety, the Modern Slavery Act and any other requirements that they may have. It moves third party assurance from a siloed and reactive activity, to a connected, proactive continuous process that delivers a complete view of third-party risk.”
Contacts
Crossword Cybersecurity plc – Tel: +44 (0) 20 3953 8460
Email: info@crosswordcybersecurity.com
Tom Ilube, Chief Executive Officer
Mary Dowd, Finance Director
Grant Thornton (Nominated Adviser) – Tel: +44 (0) 20 7383 5100
Colin Aaronson / Jamie Barklem /Niall McDonald
Hybridan LLP (Broker) – Tel: +44 (0)203 764 2341
Claire Louise Noyce
For media enquiries contact:
Lorena Duke, GingerPR
lorena@gingerpr.co.uk, 01932 485 300
About Crossword Cybersecurity plc
Crossword Cybersecurity plc focuses on the development and commercialisation of university research-based cyber security related software and cyber security consulting. The Group’s specialist cyber security product development and software engineering teams work with its university partners to develop the research concept into a fully-fledged commercial product that it will then take to market. The Group’s aim is to build up a portfolio of revenue generating, intellectual property based, cyber security products. Rizikon Assurance, Crossword’s leading product, is a SaaS platform that enables medium to large companies to assess the cyber maturity and GDPR readiness of their suppliers. Crossword’s team of expert cyber security consultants leverages years of experience in national security, defence and commercial cyber intelligence and operations to provide bespoke advice tailored to its clients’ business needs.
About Stevenage Borough Council
Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) is the local authority for the town of Stevenage, in Hertfordshire. Located approximately 28 miles from London, it was designated as the UK’s first New Town in 1946, to provide much-needed housing as part of the country’s ambitious post-war reconstruction process and achieved a number of notable firsts including the country’s first pedestrianised town centre and further innovations in its approach to layout, green spaces and other local facilities.
The Council provides services, support and information to 87,700 residents on all areas of housing, benefits, waste, recycling, business, leisure, planning and regeneration. It consists of 39 elected members, representing thirteen electoral wards; each with three elected councillors. The Council is currently controlled by the Labour Party, who hold 27 of the 39 seats. The Leader of the Labour Group and the Council is Councillor Sharon Taylor.
About East Hertfordshire District Council
East Herts Council is consistently rated as amongst the best areas in the country to live, with excellent schools and healthcare, a huge array of green space, beautiful waterways, five unique towns and picturesque villages. We also enjoy high levels of employment and a diverse local economy. The vision of the Council is to provide its 140,000 residents and businesses with a future that is prosperous and sustainable. To accomplish this, its focus is to improve the health and wellbeing of communities, enhance the quality of people’s lives and enable a flourishing local economy.