Kainos leads the way to Washington DC on Cyber Security UK mission

Kainos Cyber Security lead recognised as part of a leading group of representatives on the 'International Visitor Leadership Programme'

This week, Kainos' Head of Cyber Security Davey McGlade has taken off for Washington DC as part of a UK delegation with the US State Department 'International Visitor Leadership Program' (IVLP) to focus on Cyber Security for Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).

IVLP, established in 1940, is the U.S. Department of State's professional exchange program. Through short-term visits to the United States, current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields experience the country first-hand and cultivate lasting relationships with their American counterparts. It's a huge honour to be recognised as a leader in your field and invited on such a trip.

Davey joins representatives from the UK Government over the two-week visit which will take in DC, Maryland and Atlanta. They'll visit exciting locations from private sector headquarters to government departments, to be briefed by the US's leading figures in cyber security and share best practices from around the world.

When you think of Kainos' track record in this field, it's not a surprise to be recognised as part of the leadership programme for example, we support the infrastructure behind UK Elections and the UK Passport renewal service. It's the result of hard work from our entire team from ops to engineers to cyber, and the support of organisations like Queen's University Belfast's Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) who provided invaluable support to the business through staff training in particular training Davey to obtain a Master's in Applied Cyber Security while doing their day jobs at Kainos.

David Crozier, Head of Strategic Partnerships & Engagement at CSIT said, 'Davey McGlade is a stellar alumni from our Masters programme and a fantastic ambassador for both Kainos and UK cyber security capabilities. As a past participant in a similar State Department programme in 2018 I had no hesitation in recommending him for IVLP. I know that he, Kainos and its clients will benefit greatly from the knowledge, experience and connections he will develop over the course of the programme.'

Follow Davey's story via our Twitter and look out for a summary blog post to come once the mission is over!