Fuel Oil News December 2017 | Page 13

TSA Conference 2017 Continued from page 11 team to train, exercise and test response plans. Whilst there is no legal requirement to have a Business Continuity Plan (BCP), ABP believes that in order for any company to recover from a serious incident, BCPs are key, with ABP also having a crisis management team in place. Cyber threats With the number of cyber-attacks on the increase, Kevin T of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, reported that many companies are not working hard enough to deter attackers. In the case of TalkTalk, the company’s IT system was apparently older than its hacker! A recent NCSC report suggests that 81% of large companies have experienced a data breach and that the average cost is somewhere between £600k and £1.15m Most attackers exploit vulnerabilities with adversary actions being increasingly aggressive and confrontational. Data extortion is among the newer cyber capabilities exhibited with threats to expose data being made unless a ransom payment is received. The Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) has a focus on the more serious incidents that threaten our critical national infrastructure; of the 13 sectors – energy, civil, nuclear, transport, water and chemicals are the sectors relevant to TSA members. In the spirit of innovation and collaboration, the industry 100 initiative was launched in August 2017 with a goal to ‘build and nurture a community of cyber experts throughout the UK, improving the resilience of our cyber defences, nationally.’ Bringing new regulations for operators of essential services, in May 2018 the EU Security of Networks & Information (NIS) directive comes into effect. As an international problem, the importance of aligning advice with that from other countries is vital. For 10 steps to cyber security visit www.ncsc.gov.uk On the IFC Inflow stand Greg Clarke and Kiran Shaw converse with Mark Waddington of Grafton Ridge Apprentices Since its introduction, the England-only Apprenticeship Levy has produced over £3m of funding for apprenticeships. Non- levy paying SMEs can also access the fund to receive 90% towards apprenticeship training with just 10% to find. Any unused levy will go to non-levy payers. “The challenge is to maximise the drawdown of the levy,” says Jenny Clucas, head of strategy – Industrial Sciences, COGENT Skills. “Given the industry’s demographics, talent will soon retire and walk out of the door,” said Jenny who urged the audience to think not only of young apprentices but to also use the levy to upskill or retrain existing employees of any age. Advanced 3D Laser Solutions attracted many visitors to their stand (An apprenticeship must last a minimum of one year with 20% off the job training.) “The assessment plan, which also includes an end- point assessment undertaken by an independent assessor, will ensure that all science industry apprentices have demonstrated the skills, knowledge, understanding and behaviours needed to work in this exciting industry. “We’re looking for employers to take the lead in developing and designing standards through the Institute of Apprenticeships.” “In the past, apprenticeships have been somewhat downgraded, now quality is very important to produce apprentices who are fully competent and productive.” See the Apprenticeships section at www.Cogentskills. com. “MABANAFT WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE TEAM AT FUEL OIL NEWS ON THEIR 40TH ANNIVERSARY. 40 years “YOUR MONTHLY MAGAZINE AND E-NEWSLETTERS HELP US ALL REMAIN ABREAST OF INDUSTRY NEWS. IT ALSO PROVIDES A VERY USEFUL WAY OF REACHING AND COMMUNICATING WITH DISTRIBUTORS AND OTHER PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS. “HERE’S TO MANY MORE SUCCESSFUL YEARS OF PUBLISHING.” MARTIN COOK, MARKETING MANAGER Fuel Oil News | December 2017 13