That the preferred bidder, sought from the KCS Framework, be awarded the contract for the 24-Hour Cyber Security Operations Centre Monitoring service for a 3 year term as set out in exempt Appendix 1 to the submitted report.

Having 24-hour monitoring considerably reduces the risk of cyber attack. Renewal of the service reduces the risk of Cyber Attack which could cripple the Council in terms of service delivery or risk its confidential data being leaked to the Dark Web.

The alternative option was to do nothing, a full appraisal of the options was set out in the submitted report.

The decision in respect of the Cyber Security - Renewal of 24-Hour Cyber Security Operations Centre Monitoring Contract will come into force immediately as the decision maker has decided that any delay likely to be caused by the call-in process would prejudice the Council’s interest. The Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordinator was consulted on 8 August 2023.

Following the approval in 2022 of the Endpoint Detection and Response and 24 Cyber Security Monitoring by a Security Operations Centre (SOC), the SOC has proven to be invaluable and has directly helped prevent a number of potentially catastrophic malware attacks. 

Having 24-hour monitoring considerably reduces the risk of cyber attack.  Cyber attacks typically take place in the middle of the night or outside core working hours.  Awarding the contract to the preferred supplier is therefore critical to protecting IT infrastructure, vital delivery service and confidential data.

At the meeting, Councillor Tyerman proposed and Councillor David Thomas seconded a motion that was agreed unanimously by the Cabinet, as set out above.

None.