The CyberScotland Partnership has announced the addition of three new Partners: The Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre (SC3), the Local Government Digital Office, and Age Scotland. The expansion comes during CyberScotland Week 2025, which is currently underway.
The CyberScotland Partnership is a collaboration of national organisations including ScotlandIS, brought together by the Scottish Government’s Cyber Resilience Unit with the aim of raising cybersecurity awareness and building Scotland-wide cyber resilience.
Clare El Azebbi, chair of CyberScotland Partnership and head of the Scottish Government’s Cyber Resilience Unit said: “I am thrilled to welcome our three new Partners, especially as we celebrate CyberScotland Week. Each of them will help us expand our reach into Scotland’s communities and support us on our collective mission to strengthen the nation’s cyber resilience.”
The Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre (SC3) is the national function to help protect against cyber incidents while promoting adherence to appropriate standards and best practices across critical functions and infrastructure. It supports the delivery of The Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland.
Ryan Laurenson, head of operations at the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre said: “SC3 is delighted to join the Cyber Scotland Partnership and contribute to the great collaborative work that the partnership spearheads to increase cyber resilience and awareness across Scotland.
“The development of SC3 as a central co-ordination function in Scotland is at an exciting stage as we look to scale our offering and develop new services to support the public and other sectors. The partnership provides an excellent cross-section of organisations operating in Scotland and its continued growth helps to ensure that cyber risk is prioritised and actively considered across the country.”
Founded in 2016, the Local Government Digital Office (LGDO) supports Scottish local authorities with their digital transformation journeys. The LGDO team works closely with local authorities across Scotland to provide the leadership, guidance, resources and expertise needed to navigate the complexities of the ever-changing digital landscape.
David Ritchie, chief information officer at the Local Government Digital Office said: “It is a great pleasure and honour for the Digital Office to become part of the Cyber Scotland Partnership.
“The only way we can defeat the criminals who seek to harm us is to work together and defend ourselves as a country, and the more we can all do to publicise and promote cyber security the more we will be able to protect ourselves, our families and our country.”
Age Scotland is the Scottish charity for older people. It works to improve the lives of people over the age of 50 and promote their rights and interests.
Katherine Crawford, CEO at Age Scotland said: “Older people regularly raise concerns about online safety and the challenges they face being online, so it’s vital that we are working to ensure those who wish to have access to the skills and support they need to thrive in a digital society.
“With online services playing an increasing role in everyday life and a rising number of older people going online in recent years, we’re pleased to join the CyberScotland Partnership and work together to support older people to be safe and secure when digitally connected.”
The CyberScotland Partnership now consists of 21 partners, who work together to improve cyber resilience across Scotland in a coordinated and coherent way. It is ‘committed to widening its reach to all in Scotland, providing practical, tailored advice and guidance for every individual and organisation, with the aim of raising awareness of cyber threats and enhancing resilience to build a safer, secure and prosperous Scotland.’
Now in its seventh year, CyberScotland Week 2025 (24 February – 2 March) will see individuals, businesses and communities across Scotland coming together to host events and share information to improve cyber awareness and resilience.
Source: DIGIT