Lindy Cameron is a British civil servant who is

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

at the

National Cyber Security Centre National Cyber Security Centre, National Cyber Security Center, or National Cybersecurity Center may refer to: Americas * Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, United States * Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Canada Asia * Cyb ...

. She was previously Director-General responsible for the Department for International Development’s programmes in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. She was awarded an

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as ...

in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for her services to

international development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic development, economic or human development (humanity), human development on an international scal ...

Early life and education

Cameron was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

. Her father was a founding member of the

Corrymeela Community The Corrymeela Community was founded in 1965 by Ray Davey, along with John Morrow and Alex Watson, as an organisation seeking to aid individuals and communities which suffered through the violence and polarisation of the Northern Irish conflic ...

Peace and Reconciliation Centre. She completed her undergraduate studies at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

, where she studied modern history. She graduated from

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided th ...

in 1991, before starting a course in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the Scientific method, scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities betwe ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learnin ...

as a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

scholar. After graduating, Cameron joined

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

, where she worked as a management consultant until 1998.

Research and career

In 1998, Cameron joined the

Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a department of HM Government responsible for administering foreign aid from 1997 to 2020. The goal of the department was "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". D ...

(DFID). She served as head of both the DFID Country Offices in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

. She was awarded an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for her services to Iraq in 2004. Cameron was seconded to the

Cabinet of the United Kingdom The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of His Majesty's Government. A committee of the Privy Council, it is chaired by the prime minister and its members include secretaries of state and other senior ministers. ...

in 2007, where she worked on Trader and Development in Africa. She moved to the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

to lead the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team. After completing a year long programme at the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

, Cameron returned to DFID in 2011, where she was appointed director of the Middle East. She spent two years in this role before being promoted to director general, overseeing a £4 billion budget.

National Cyber Security Centre

Cameron was appointed chief executive officer of the

in 2020, becoming the second person to hold such a position at the NCSC. She succeeded the founding CEO,

Ciaran Martin Ciaran Liam Martin, (born 19 September 1974), was the first CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). In September 2020 he was appointed Professor of Practice in the Management of Public Organisations at the Blavatnik School of Government ...

. Martin was made a Companion of the

in the

for his services to cyber security and Cameron received the same honour for her services to

. In March 2021 during Cameron's inaugural address as CEO, she warned of the UK's need to "be clear-eyed about Chinese ambition in technological advancement", citing China's "hostile activity in cyberspace". In June 2021 she spoke at the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...

. Cameron said that

ransomware Ransomware is a type of malware from cryptovirology that threatens to publish the victim's personal data or permanently block access to it unless a ransom is paid off. While some simple ransomware may lock the system without damaging any files, m ...

attacks were the major threat to

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

cyber security. She noted that it is possible to obtain ransomware as a service (RaaS) for either a flat fee or for a share of the profits. Lindy spoke at the 12th annual

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Cyber Week in June 2022, identifying

as the primary cyber threat to global security, which is both pervasive and quickly evolving."Ransomware is the biggest global cyber threat. And the attacks are still evolving"
Danny Palmer, ZDNET, June 28, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Lindy Living people 21st-century British civil servants Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Civil servants from Belfast Tufts University alumni Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Year of birth missing (living people) Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British civil servants Cybercrime in the United Kingdom