LIVE FROM SECURE TOMORROW, ADASTRAL PARK: CEO at BT Group Allison Kirkby (pictured) and Business unit boss Bas Burger noted its legacy as the world’s oldest network operator gives it competitive advantages in cybersecurity, as the leaders laid out the company’s wider sustainability strategy.

At an event in Ipswich, Burger spoke at an opening keynote about how cybersecurity is forming a fundamental part of the operator’s mission as a connectivity provider.

Citing data from its enterprise unit, Burger said nine out of ten business leaders “lie awake at night thinking about the vast evolution of technology, and how they can implement it fast enough in their markets”.

As digital services multiply, business owners are increasingly becoming aware of the threats, Burger added, explaining three out five large enterprises were attacked in the past year.

“We have been protecting consumers for many decades”, the executive said, adding “a rock solid foundation in our network” is key to the company’s cyber strategy as “security and sustainability are becoming interlinked”.

He continued: “We need to deliver predictable performance for customers in the long run, and we have to make it sustainable.”

Digital backbone
Also speaking, group CEO Kirkby took pride in the company’s position as “a trusted connector of people, devices, and machines”.

“It’s part of our heritage because of the role we play in society. If we don’t give [our consumers] secure connectivity, we will put society at risk. That’s not what we want to do.”

Kirkby, who joined BT from Telia, detailed how her history at the Swedish operator helped her in setting the UK operator’s sustainability agenda: “The Scandinavian region has always been at the forefront of sustainability for many reasons, it is also home to vendors Nokia and Ericsson, so cyber resilience was very much a part of this sustainability.”

“This was way before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” she added, noting the border between Russia and Finland made Telia “very aware of the threat” as a Nordic company.

Today, as leader of BT, Kirkby believes the group “plays a very special role in the country, and we have always been the digital backbone of the country”.

“That’s why we continue to invest in research, in our networks and making them secure”.

Kirkby also highlighted the recent launch of standalone (SA) 5G through its EE brand, pointing out that “networks are becoming more intelligent and we have the responsibility to keep them secure.”

“The data we have of people trying to attack our network enables us to predict”, Burger concluded, stating BT “has a heritage that allows us to do this extremely well”.