WARREN O’ DRISCOLL
TECH & AI
Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated, more frequent and harder to defend against. In recent months, energy and utility firms have found themselves right on the front line. With the UK Government’ s Cyber Security and Resilience Bill on the horizon and boards now being urged to take personal responsibility for their organisation’ s cyber defences, the pressure to act has never been quite so great. To better understand what this means for the energy sector, Energy Digital spoke to Warren O’ Driscoll, Head of Security Practice, Services & Solutions at NTT DATA UK & I. In this Q & A, he explains why the threat landscape has shifted so dramatically and what the leaders of energy firms should be doing about it today.
Q. WHY HAS THE UK GOVERNMENT PUT CYBER SECURITY FIRMLY IN THE HANDS OF BOARDS?
» For a long time, the government has been trying to drive UK businesses to do the right thing, but it’ s had to strike a very difficult balance. On one hand, the last thing it wants to do right now is stifle business growth. On the other, it needs to make sure its businesses are, in turn, protecting UK plc.
That’ s why it published a ministerial letter on cyber security, urging boards to“ take the necessary steps to protect your business and our wider economy from cyberattacks”. Its previous attempts haven’ t been too successful, so it’ s trying to create a sense of urgency. That way,
WARREN O’ DRISCOLL
TITLE: HEAD OF SECURITY PRACTICE, SERVICES & SOLUTIONS FOR THE UK & IRELAND
COMPANY: NTT DATA INDUSTRY: LOCATION LOCATION: HEADLEY, UK
Warren is a seasoned security consulting advisory leader and practitioner, who has worked in the Professional & Consulting Services sector for 30 years and at NTT DATA for over five.
we at least have a fighting chance when threat actors come knocking.
The geopolitical environment is completely different to what we’ ve seen in previous years, with rapid growth in the direct use of AI and other tech to support cyberattacks. These have made it easier for less mature adversaries to present an outsized threat to UK businesses relative to their size and experience, which is also exacerbated by known threat actors funding them and using these smaller outfits as puppets. Together, that’ s made attacks far easier to perpetrate.
76 August 2026