Cybersecurity specialist, Core to Cloud, has appointed a new Head of Cyber Security, Laurence Bentley, as the multi award-winning company launches a program of new services as part of its strategic transition to a fully managed service provider.
Laurence Bentley, who has over 26 years of experience in cybersecurity, is working in partnership with Chief Technology Officer Phil Howe. He will oversee the service delivery team as the company launches three new managed services this month, including its Dark Web Monitoring, fully Managed 24/7 Detection and Response, and Crisis Simulation services.
Before joining Core to Cloud, Laurence held roles in the finance, healthcare and retail sectors, including Bupa Global, The Co-Operative Group, and Barclays Bank. He has a reputation for successfully delivering enterprise-level cybersecurity systems, specialising in areas such as incident response and management, systems security, vulnerability and malware management, risk assessment and security testing, network management, and policy design and compliance.
On joining Core to Cloud, Laurence said: “Core to Cloud has an industry-wide reputation for working collaboratively and in true partnership with its clients to design and deliver bespoke, sustainable cybersecurity systems and strategies that not only protect organisations but also build upon, educate and inform our clients’ workforces too. The company is going through an exciting period of growth and transition. It’s been fantastic working with the team, and our partner vendors, to deliver our new range of services to the market.”
Core to Cloud was founded in 2015 by business partners James Cunningham and Mark Liddle. It supports an expanding portfolio of private and public sector clients, including the high street retailer Fat Face, global consumer intelligence agency GFK, University College London and over a quarter of the NHS Trusts in England and Wales, as well as working closely with National Services Scotland, which provides services to Scotland’s 14 health boards.
Having established itself in the market as an innovator in cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions, Core to Cloud provides industry-leading network visibility, validation, governance and control, and incident response tooling and services. Its new Cyber Crime Underground Monitoring, Managed 24/7 Detection and Response, and Crisis Simulation as a service are a part of a program of services that the cybersecurity specialists will be launching over the coming months.
Laurence explained: “Our Dark Web Monitoring service provides alerts and insights for our partners to identify potential threats to their business. It enables organisations to quickly pivot to focus on specific threats, minimise risk, identify exposed data, accelerate incident response, and profile threat actors. Credentials sold on the dark web are often initial routes into an organisation for cybercriminals and can lead to numerous types of attacks, such as email and server compromise and data exfiltration.
The launch of Core to Cloud’s other two services, Managed 24/7 Detection and Response and crisis simulation as a service, comes as findings from the Government’s Cyber Breaches Survey highlighted the continued prevalence of phishing attacks on UK organisations. It reported that 79% of businesses experienced a phishing attempt over the last 12 months. This follows a KnowBe4 benchmarking report which also found that 1 in 3 employees are likely to fall for a phishing attack when they’re not cybersecurity trained.
Laurence continued: “In today’s digital age, where threats are a global issue, coming from anywhere at any time, managed detection and response is an essential tool for organisations, allowing them to monitor their digital assets 24/7, 365 days of the year. Our new service improves threat detection and aligns with ISO27001, NIST, Cyber Essentials, MITRE ATT&CK and Kill Chain security frameworks and controls.
Also a company’s employees should be one of the first lines of defense in a robust cybersecurity strategy. Crisis simulation can help play a key role in educating people at all levels, helping to build resilience. Through gamification – so no death by PowerPoint – it challenges teams to make critical decisions when dealing with emerging incidents, such as ransomware outbreaks, insider threats, data breaches, and phishing attacks. It can also help organisations to understand their readiness for a potential breach, and also where potential areas for improvement could be.”
Co-founder and CEO James Cunningham added: “Laurence brings with him a wealth of experience in the delivery of enterprise level cybersecurity systems and strategies. He’s a fantastic asset to the team and has played an instrumental role, alongside the whole team, as Core to Cloud enters the market with a new range of cutting-edge cybersecurity fully managed services.”
