Opening of BT Security Operations Centre follows £6.3m contract win

BT has officially opened a brand new state-of-the-art cyber Security Operations Centre (SOC) in its flagship Riverside Tower building, Belfast.

With the scale and complexity of cyber attacks constantly increasing, organisations of all types are looking to ensure they have the right protections in place.

The SOC will leverage BT’s global security expertise and leading cyber technologies to defend public and private sector bodies against the latest threats.

The significant investment by BT into the 40 seat centre of excellence, follows the award of a £6.3million contract from the Department of Finance for the provision of a Security Information Event Management (SIEM) and SOC managed services.

The SOC will provide 24/7 management 365 days a year for ICT assets across the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

The new specialist centre, which is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, is designed to support growth in the company’s UK customer base providing up to the highest levels of security classification.

The SOC in Riverside Tower forms part of a wider multi-million pound investment by BT in the building. Currently all 11 floors are undergoing significant refurbishment to create a fantastic future-fit workplace for approximately 1,800 colleagues, with the final floors being complete in early 2023.

Highlighting the importance of protecting local businesses against cyber attacks, Paul Murnaghan, regional director for BT’s Enterprise business in Northern Ireland, said: “Each day, millions of people around the world rely on BT’s expertise in cyber security to ensure they can go about their lives and run their businesses safely.

“Our investment in the opening of BT’s Security Operations Centre in Belfast is significant and we look forward to working with the Northern Ireland Civil Service in this partnership to deliver the most effective cyber support for the public sector here.

“Using a wealth of talent from local cyber experts, the SOC will help to tackle the unprecedented challenges of sophisticated cyber threats. As an increasing number of public services are delivered online, our partnership with central government will help to ensure that the public can trust the services that they access and that the data they provide is secure and protected.”

Outlining the need ti defend and protect local IT systems, Paul Duffy, director of enterprise shared services, added: “Protecting the cyber security of government IT and infrastructure is vital. The service provided by BT plays an important role in gathering intelligence on cyber threats and enables the Civil Service to enhance its capacity to help defend and protect our IT systems and essential public services we deliver.”

BT operates an international network of SOCs. They include more than 3,000 cyber security professionals, who use their expertise to watch, learn, predict and respond to the latest cyber threats for a range of both public and private sector clients across the globe.

The firm also provide managed telecommunications, security and network and IT infrastructure services to customers across 180 countries.