About Us
On the 12th of February 2013, a new organisation was formed, and named ‘The Cyber Scheme’. The main objective of this new organisation at the time was to fill the UK’s growing skills gap of Information Security Practitioners. Our first achievement was being granted a license to assess security testers for the Government’s CHECK standard, established in 2008 and under which approved companies were able to conduct authorised penetration tests of public sector and critical national infrastructure systems and networks.
The Cyber Scheme’s aims 10 years ago reflected much of what is still a priority for this industry, and for us, today. Validating skills, assessing competency, accrediting individuals, improving learning pathways and helping practitioners progress their career are the backbone principles of why The Cyber Scheme was established and continues to innovate.
The Cyber Scheme are now known nationwide as a centre of excellence for CHECK exam provision. In 2022 we expanded the focus of our testing services from exams to training and education, driven by the awareness that our industry was desperate for more skilled, accredited security testers and technical consultants to fill contracts – both within Government and in the private sector.
We assess competence at whatever level a candidate needs to progress their career, fully adopting and including NCSC guidance in our thinking as we develop subject matter expertise in line with the evolving cyber security profession.
The Cyber Scheme is based in central Cheltenham, the home of cyber security in the UK. In line with our belief that learning is always better undertaken face-to-face, our exams and training courses all take place in our purpose-built assessment centre, which is fully accessible and can be adapted to different class sizes and needs.
Our unique, no-nonsense approach includes simplifying entry level pathways into what sometimes feels like an impenetrable industry, creating real-world scenarios for our exam candidates and supporting testers from entry to expert level with training, advanced mentoring and best-in-class assessments.
If you are interested in furthering your personal career in technical cyber security, or work for an organisation which employs specialists to fill offensive security contracts, get in touch with us to discuss how we can help.
The Team at The Cyber Scheme
Our team have many years’ collective experience and include technical experts, training and education leads, and sector specialists in sales and marketing and business operations.
To contact any of us please click here.
Charles White is the Chief Executive Officer of The Cyber Scheme. He is committed to developing and enhancing the cyber security industry, supporting talent looking to gain a foothold, professionalisation of the industry aligned with the UK Cyber Security Council and government objectives, and collaborating with core stakeholders including CiiSEC, NCSC, and DSIT to develop the UK as the safest place for companies large and small to do business online.
A compelling speaker, Charles can articulate the issue that large enterprises encounter as they deal with the economic cost of both embracing and ignoring cyber risks. As a fellow of The Chartered Institute for Cyber Security (CiiSEC) Charles has presented to many PLC boards, agencies, venture capital and investment firms and is at ease with positioning cyber within the context of business operations and corporate risk.
Biography
Charles White has founded and started several technology businesses, and over the past twenty-five years has focussed on the cyber security and information security market.
In 1998 Charles founded Information Risk Management Ltd (IRM) a market leading cyber security consultancy in 2017 IRM was acquired by Altran a global leader in innovation and high‐tech engineering consulting employing 46,000 people. The acquisition of IRM formed the global hub for Cyber security consulting and operations specifically for OT, ICS, IoT and embedded control systems pervasive across engineering.
Richard has over forty years’ experience in financial operations and management across a diverse range of business sectors. These included ten years as the CFO at Information Risk Management Limited where he was strategically key in the successful sale of the company to Altran in 2017.
Andrew Jones – Strategy Director
Focused on Cyber security futures (defensive & Active engagement), intelligence and professional development, Andy has worked on cyber security design verification and validation across a wide range of engineering implementation and research areas.
He has 31 years’ experience in Central Government and foreign Government collaboration covering a wide range of roles involving policy development, operational delivery, planning, financial and business change in the topic areas of Cyber Security and Information Assurance, assured services, technical operations, communications technology, crisis management, complex project and programme delivery.
He is currently focussing on developing professional standards for the Penetration Testing community as well as being the Chair of the Professional Standards Working group at the UK Cyber Security Council.
Paul Richards – Head of Education
Paul is a subject matter expert in ethical hacking and security testing. A career in software development and the technical support industry gave Paul the insight to pursue a career in cyber security. A fully qualified teacher (QTS), with a degree in computer science, a CHECK team leader (CSTL), as well as a Chartered Cyber Security Professional (ChCSP), Paul is The Cyber Scheme’s CSTL app and inf assessor, CTM and VA+ assessor, Chartership assessor and an NCSC approved trainer.
Paul teaches ethical hacking from beginner to expert level, hosting mentoring workshops and face-to-face training at our Cheltenham premises. As Director of Education he creates, maintains and innovates the training offers from The Cyber Scheme.
Debi McCormack – Communications Director
Over Debi’s career she has helped form the creative and strategic direction of clients in sectors as diverse as auto (Volvo), pharma (Astra Zeneca), FMCG (Nestle Rowntree) subscription retail (Boxcitement) and currently cyber security with The Cyber Scheme.
Having worked as an award-winning director in Australia for 12 years, for the Bates Dorland and Euro RSCG advertising groups, Debi is now helping to grow awareness of and engagement with The Cyber Scheme, specifically the training, assessment and accreditation of cyber security professionals. She is also passionate about improving career pathways for new talent, and is a regular speaker at large events talking about the challenges for entry level employees and employers.
Debi collaborates regularly with industry bodies including NCSC, The UK Cyber Security Council, CiiSEC, IASME and DSIT, as well as companies providing cybersecurity services including security testing, red teams, cyber advisor consultancy and cyber training. She also manages The Cyber Scheme’s innovative Sponsorship programme as well as increasing awareness of The Cyber Scheme through digital and in person networking, content, and brand development.
Debi is the first contact point for anyone wishing to discuss The Cyber Scheme’s services; please email her here if you’d like to get in touch.
Sean McCormack – Operations Director
With 30 years of experience, Sean McCormack is a recognised leader in cyber security, IT operations, and programme/project delivery. His varied international background spanning Europe, Asia Pacific, and North America makes him culturally aware with the ability to work cross-functionally at the highest levels. Sean is a strong advocate of being pragmatic and using processes to help move operational activities forward, believing the desired outcome should drive the level of procedural effort. He also believes that change within organisations is an ongoing state of affairs rather than a number of discrete activities.
Sean has proven success directing operational teams, translating strategic goals into functional activities and achieving objectives.
Sean has delivered major programs including office virtualisation, integrations, product development, and managed transitions. He setup project management offices, reduced project timelines, designed and re-designed processes, and contributed to agile development.
As Head of Programmes for a cyber security consultancy, Sean led transformative initiatives including establishing a world-class centre of excellence, re-engineering international relationships, and managing integrations of transnational teams.
As Head of Professional Services in a SAAS software development sector, Sean developed and rolled out support processes and project implementation methodologies to enable a shift from customised to licensed software. This increased efficiency and customer satisfaction through effective issue resolution and on-time delivery.
In his various project, program and service management roles, Sean has repeatedly driven process improvements and team development. His ability to organise interdisciplinary teams and align activities with strategic goals has been instrumental to realising benefits.
Alex Teague – Cyber Software Developer and Trainer
Alex began his career in Web Development and UX/UI Design and Application Development, progressing to a role in HM Government and subsequently focussing on Operational Technologies, with a particular focus on Automotive Applications. Alex is also a trained and approved Assessor for the Cyber Scheme, and a Principal Registrant with the UK Cyber Security Council.
Ella Chamberlain – Operations Manager
As Operations Manager at The Cyber Scheme, Ella works diligently behind the scenes to ensure seamless delivery of our services. Her primary responsibilities include overseeing the effective running of projects and service lines, maintaining documentation and procedures, and ensuring all tasks involved with bookings and certifications run smoothly.
From an unconventional work background with previous experience as a chef, Ella developed a passion for efficiency and for developing easy to follow procedures in the workplace. It’s as a chef that she learnt the importance of inclusivity and accessibility, and this is something she’s passionate about bringing to the way we operate as a company.
The Cyber Scheme are committed to supporting those looking to enter the cyber security industry from other careers, and self-employed consultants. Find out about our deferred payments, split payments and card payments here.
Key Specialities
Training
Our NCSC-Assured practitioner training course is designed to help candidates prepare for their CSTM (or equivalent) exam. We also offer advanced mentoring, entry level training for career starters and a practical course in IoT/OT Security.
Assessments
We are accredited by NCSC to offer examinations that meet UK Government Standards in Penetration Testing. Our highly respected exams mimic real world situations, with both written and practical elements, an interview, and detailed reporting.
Industry Representation
We have a sponsorship community who donate their time to work with us on issues important to industry. We engage regularly with bodies including NCSC, IASME, CIISec and the UK Cyber Security Council.
Professional Registration
The Cyber Scheme are working closely with the UK Cyber Security Council on the creation of Professional Registration titles for the cyber security industry. We are now a Licensing Body for Chartership.
Join Our Newsletter
Please sign up for industry news, education resources, Sponsor projects and ongoing initiatives. We will also let you know about our exams and training provision, including additional dates as they are added. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Inclusion and Accessibility during exams and training
The Cyber Scheme believe everyone should have access to a career in security testing. We are available to discuss any concerns you have and are more than happy to make reasonable adjustments for any candidate who requires them during training and examinations.
These reasonable adjustments are to ensure you are given an equal opportunity to demonstrate the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours required. We recognise that not all disabilities are visible.
We have a range of reasonable adjustments we can offer depending on what difficulty you might face. If you request an adjustment which we are unable to offer, we will give you a reason why we cannot offer it. This might be because it maps to a key Knowledge, Skill or Behaviour that we have to assess against within the certification. If that is the case, we will tell you which aspect we think would not be properly assessed.
There may be background noise during an assessment. Please bring (or ask for) ear plugs / ear defenders or listen to music if background noise is likely to affect your concentration (please note this doesn’t apply to our training courses).
Mobility
Access to all of our facilities is suitable for people with mobility issues. Should any other special facilities be required please get in touch at time of booking. For some reasonable adjustments, such as access to a disabled parking space, we will need to see supporting documentation around the condition to allow us to apply for this access for you. No information will be retained or stored once the request is validated.
Read some of our latest blogs and articles below
Red Team/Attack Simulation Exercising
An article from James Mason, Enterprise Cyber Security, QinetiQ As the world’s oldest, formally dedicated, pen testing team and founders of the CHECK accreditation scheme,
Cyber Advisor-tips
Learn from our Cyber Advisor assessor Sarah Knowles The role of the Cyber Advisor is to work with micro, small and medium sized businesses to
Living the dream, in the red team at The Cyber Scheme…
By Paul Richards, Head of Education at The Cyber Scheme “Today I was invited to a meeting regarding our new Cyber Scheme Red Team Manager
Why did we develop a Red Team Manager assessment?
By Charles White, FCIIS, CEO of The Cyber Scheme An awful long time ago (thirty odd years) when I started out in the cyber security
Learning Lessons: Sir Roly Keating, CEO, The British Library talks incident response
In October last year, the British Library became the victim of a major ransomware cyber-attack, the impact of which was deep and extensive. While physical
Cyber Essentials DOES work!
During the first plenary of CYBERUK24 in May, Felicity Oswald OBE, CEO of NCSC, spoke about how Cyber Essentials certification is a major step in making
The government has committed to embedding professional titles across the public sector cyber workforce by 2025.
CyberUK Keynote speech from Saqib Bhatti MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. “Having more skilled people in the industry
Failure is an option…
An assessor’s guide to exam success… Paul Richards is Lead Assessor and Head of Education for The Cyber Scheme, and a subject matter expert in
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