Airbus has announced the launch of a human-centric cybersecurity accelerator program. It will feature a dedicated team of human factor and cognitive psychology experts that will work in collaboration with the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and a range of other partners to gain crucial insights into human-centric approaches for improving cybersecurity effectiveness. 

The Accelerator will offer placements for qualifying university students and establish collaboration opportunities with research teams and businesses to help make the UK one of the safest places to do business in cyberspace. 

The launch follows the opening of the Airbus Cyber Innovation Hub, located in Newport, Wales, in April 2019.

Dr Kevin Jones, chief information security officer of Airbus, said: “With increasingly sophisticated attacks being attempted every day, it simply isn’t possible to protect every user against every cyber-attack. We therefore need to think differently and identify ways for security to work with an organization’s people, to better protect against an array of threats.

“With the right tools and approach, employees can be the strongest link in an organization’s cyber-defense. Our work aims to put people-centric thinking at the heart of an organization’s security and we’re keen to hear from likeminded researchers and organizations who are interested in getting involved with our new Accelerator.”

Airbus was recently forced to take action after a possible Chinese state-sponsored hacking operation was detected targeting multiple suppliers over the past year.

Dr Ian Levy, technical director at the NCSC, said the new initiative is a welcome one and recognizes the importance of a multidisciplinary approach that puts people at the center of cybersecurity development.

“At the NCSC, we recognize the vital role employees have to play in an organization’s cyber-resilience and we are pleased to collaborate on this program.”