Professor Ciaran Martin CB

Professor Ciaran Martin CB is a Distinguished Fellow of RUSI and Professor of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. He is also an adviser to Paladin Capital in the United States, and Garrison Technology Ltd in the United Kingdom.

For six and a half years ending in the middle of 2020, Ciaran led the UK’s Government’s work on cyber security. This included establishing the National Cyber Security Centre in 2016. The UK NCSC is now recognised as one of the leading public authorities in the world for cyber security, and running it for its first four years. During Ciaran’s tenure, the UK rose from eighth to first in the International Telecommunications Union’s Global Cybersecurity Index. The NCSC’s approach to intervening to make technology safer, and easier to use safely, and to manage national level incidents proactively has been lauded around the world and Ciaran has been honoured within the UK, Europe, the United States and beyond for his ground-breaking efforts to combat cyber threats.

Prior to running the NCSC, Ciaran held a series of senior roles in the UK Cabinet Office. These included: Director of Constitution, where he oversaw the agreement for arrangements for the Scottish independence referendum in 2014; Director of Security and Intelligence, and head of the Cabinet Secretary’s office. He has also worked in the UK Treasury and National Audit Office. Originally from Northern Ireland, he holds a first class degree in history from the University of Oxford.