John Suffolk, former chief information officer for the UK government, has joined Chinese networking and telecoms giant Huawei as global cyber security officer.
Reporting directly to CEO Ren Zhengfei, Suffolk’s role will involve developing Huawei’s cyber security assurance strategy and system and managing and supervising its implementation, the firm said in a statement.
The cyber security strategy will be implemented across all business groups and departments at Huawei, including R&D, supply chain, marketing and sales, project delivery and technical service, the company confirmed.
Ken Hu, deputy chairman of the Board and chairman of Huawei’s Global Cyber Security Committee, said that as Huawei expands its business the need for a stronger security presence becomes more vital.
"With convergence of the ICT industry, Huawei is expanding its business beyond its traditional operator market to meet the communications need of both enterprises and consumers," he said. "Industry convergence will also expand the complexity of cyber security challenges, and Huawei is fully committed to addressing the emerging challenges of tomorrow together with our customers."
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"Mr. Suffolk has a wealth of experience and expertise in dealing with cyber security issues with deep insights into emerging global cyber security trends," Hu added.
"Having spent 7 years in Government with the last 5 as the UK Government CIO and CISO, security was a core part of my thinking, planning and execution," Suffolk wrote on his blog. "We all accept that as technology becomes more pervasive and we become more reliant on technology we need to come together globally to address the challenges and threats posed by those who would wish to exploit any vulnerability in the technology."
"My role will be to ensure that our cyber security assurance system integrates end-to-end cyber security into solutions covering our cloud computing solutions, pipes/ telecommunications and all devices from mobile broadband to PDA’s where appropriate, the customer-oriented business processes and the whole ICT supply chain," he added.
Suffolk was previously CIO for the UK government, in charge of its G-Cloud initiative – a plan to roll out a shared infrastructure across public sector bodies as part of a multi-billion pound cost reduction programme. His surprise resignation was announced in November 2010 and since his departure he has advised governments on how ICT can be used to transform the public service sector and generate economic growth.
Suffolk’s role will be based at Huawei’s global headquarters in Shenzhen, China. He begins on October 1.
