CyberNorth is working to position and promote the North East as a place that delivers cyber related business services. As part of this it is developing an online tool to allow cybersecurity businesses to promote their services either as individual organisations or in collaboration
The online proposal has three elements:
- shop window that demonstrates the North East’s vibrant and capable cyber market;
- platform that allows consumers to identify the differing services they may require in a way that is both competitive yet collaborative (similar to a retail park); and
- mechanism that engenders trust within the market and definies how businesses can compete fairly and ethically.
Shop Window:
A branded online marketplace listing North East based cyber service providers, services offered and specialisms, along with links to websites and other useful cyber related information, help, NCSC, events, statistics, articles and case studies etc.
Ideally the site would represent the cyber industry across the region and would need to be categorized along the lines of:
- develop and sell cyber security related hardware and/or software;
- implement and support cyber security related hardware and/or software that others have developed;
- deliver cyber security related services such as pen testing, recovery
- provide cyber security related advice but do not deliver any specific product
- this could include training
- provide cyber security related support services, such as legal, IP, financial etc.
The site will hold sufficient information to identify the skills and qualities of the companies. A balance needs to be struck so that the site is not dominated by a few large organisations:
- qualifications
- location
- experience
- expertise
- link to the relevant website / social media
A landing page to all existing websites is to be developed in the first instance. www.cybernorth.biz has been registered.
Dynamo will act as the managing body.
Platform:
To support the online marketplace, a rules based triage mechanism will be developed that allows clients, using natural English search, to select an individual or consortia of service providers based upon their requirements, along with a response mailbox. The platform will include online help and access to useful cyber security related information. It may include a virtual assistant.
Mechanism:
A trust framework with clear rules that define how service providers can be part of the framework, what behaviours are expected from them and what happens should they breach these behaviours.