BT names UK intelligence expert Les Anderson as VP of its cyber unit

BT (NYSE: BT) has named Les Anderson, a well-known technologist and program manager in the UK's intelligence, security and defense community, as its new vice president of cyber.

Anderson comes to BT from GCHQ, the UK government's signal intelligence and security agency, where he developed and delivered complex various IT security capabilities.

Before joining GCHQ, Anderson spent 10 years at the UK Ministry of Defense's research agency in Malvern, Worcestershire, where he developed IT security capabilities and managed large scale defense procurements. 

BT has built a sizeable security business that includes a global team of 1,300 security practitioners, 600 global security specialists and a professional services team of approximately 4,000. 

The division has been going through its own leadership transition. In December, Bruce Schneier, a prominent security researcher and BT's CTO of Managed Security Services, left the company.

Anderson comes at a time when cyberattacks have been on the rise at large multinational corporations. According to Websense Security Labs, 85 percent of malicious links used in web or email attacks were located on compromised legitimate websites.

For more:
- see the release

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