Activity
2K followers
-
John Couzins reposted thisJohn Couzins reposted thisWonder what we've been up to lately? Check out the video below for a showcase of the breadth and impact of our research in 2026! 🔬 From health to sustainability to cyber, our research has been influencing policy, driving innovation locally and globally, and protecting the planet 🌍
-
John Couzins reposted thisJohn Couzins reposted thisThe time to exploit a CVE after disclosure has gone from 2.3 years in 2018 to 10 hours in 2026. It makes you wonder how much of vulnerability management was built around a window that no longer exists.
-
John Couzins shared thisOne of my big takeaways from CyberUK 2026 last week was all the talk around AI in security, both the good and the bad. I am not looking to downplay it, because the impact is real, but a lot of what we are seeing is not completely new. It feels more like everything we already deal with is about to get faster, cheaper, and a lot more accessible. That is where it gets interesting. Where my mind went pretty quickly was vulnerability management (as it does a lot). If tools keep improving and can identify far more weaknesses across an environment in a much shorter time, then the pressure lands straight on patching. Not because we suddenly find all the issues, but because we find a lot more, a lot faster. The 14-day patching window in Cyber Essentials is a decent baseline, but it assumes the volume is manageable and that prioritisation holds up. If both discovery and exploitation speed up, that starts to feel a bit optimistic and not good enough. We need to be in a place where we can patch quickly, know what we actually have in our environment, and be honest that patching is fundermental, but on its own has never been enough. None of that is new, but the scale we are heading into is going to expose it even more. The bit I don't think we are talking about enough is what happens when we actually try to patch at that speed. Less time to test, more risk to services, more pressure on change control and resilience. That trade off is going to get uncomfortable quite quickly. The National Cyber Security Centre put something out today that lines up with a lot of this, and it is probably something I will come back to in a bit more detail. https://lnkd.in/edgky4Wi
-
John Couzins shared thisThis is another great example of the Lancaster University security team understanding the underlying problem rather than defaulting to tickbox compliance, and delivering a capability that’s a great fit. Very proud of the team.John Couzins shared thisPhishing simulation is one of those areas where the default answer is often to buy a platform. At Lancaster University, we took a different route and built our own phishing simulation and awareness capability in house. The result has been significant cost savings, better organisational fit, enterprise level reporting, full control over campaign design and data, and a platform that meets our needs more closely than the commercial products we assessed. It brings together open source software, cloud hosting, custom domains, Moodle training integration, user tracking, department and faculty level reporting, and tiered campaign design, from low sophistication baseline campaigns through to targeted spear phishing scenarios. The biggest win is not that we built “a tool”. It is that we built a capability that fits the way our organisation actually works. It supports our awareness goals, gives us the reporting we need, and avoids many of the compromises we found in commercial platforms. For security leaders, I think there is a useful lesson here: buying a product is not always the fastest or most effective route to maturity. Sometimes a small team with the right skills, context, and ownership can deliver something better, cheaper, and more adaptable. This has been a big win for us, and a strong reminder that internal capability still matters.
-
John Couzins shared thisDay two at CyberUK. Strong start yesterday with talks and importantly, time catching up with peers across HE and the NHS. Good to compare notes on what is actually working versus what just sounds good on paper.
-
John Couzins shared thisThe Government have just announced the Cyber Resilience Pledge after talking about it this morning at CyberUK. https://lnkd.in/ePG8kM-J Organisations are being asked to step up, show ownership, and prove they take resilience seriously across their business and supply chain.
-
John Couzins shared thisGreat start to the day at BSides Lancaster. Looking forward to the sessions and some good conversations throughout the day. #bsideslancashire
-
John Couzins reposted thisJohn Couzins reposted thisWe're delighted that our first post on LinkedIn is about a national award that we've won for our work with micro:bit 🏅 Tomorrow, Tuesday 24th February, the MIRL leadership team (and friends!) will be in London receiving the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education on behalf of Lancaster University. Watch this space for photos of fancy suits and dresses! Professor Joe Finney says "It is truly fantastic to see Lancaster's work recognised for its contribution to society in this way. It represents the dedication and work of so many people over the past ten years." Professor Steve Hodges also mentions the team of people it took to bring micro:bit to life and the continued dedication of organisations such as the Micro:bit Educational Foundation and Microsoft Read more: https://lnkd.in/epVftRTn Elisa Rubegni Thomas Ball Lorraine Underwood #microbit #PhysicalComputing #QueenElizabethPrizeForHigherEducation Rebecca J. Lingwood FREng Nigel Davies Yashni Bhudia Davina Olasoju Mannu Lambrichts James Devine Hannah WhithamLancaster University receives nation’s highest education honour - Lancaster UniversityLancaster University receives nation’s highest education honour - Lancaster University
-
John Couzins shared thisTake two on filling this role, please share if you know anyone that would be a good fit: We're looking for an Application Security Engineer to help enhance the security of our application development and tooling. If you have the skills and experience to make an impact, please apply using this link. https://lnkd.in/eU38wPHqJob Opportunity at Lancaster University: Application Security EngineerJob Opportunity at Lancaster University: Application Security Engineer
John Couzins commented on a post
1w
Great to catch up Michael.
-
John Couzins liked thisJohn Couzins liked thisOur latest customer story showcases how Spire Healthcare Group plc, the UK's largest independent hospital group, uses Tanium Atlas with Microsoft and ServiceNow to improve patch compliance, strengthen NHS audit readiness, and deliver real-time board assurance across a complex healthcare estate. Read the story: https://lnkd.in/gBpRgMr3 #AutonomousIT #UKHealth #HealthIT #PatchCompliance
-
John Couzins liked thisJohn Couzins liked thisLets talk about the M6 Toll... We've probably all used it, its handy 27 miles of less traffic and smooth roads right!? 🚗🚚 While I've just downloaded my receipts from Friday, I couldn't help but feel stung by its now £12 access per car - Here's the crazy numbers. 💰 It was estimated last financial year they were generating £381,000 / day. (this was when it was £10.40 / car). THATS £139.3MILLION a Year. 🤑 With the increase to £12, should it still hold the same volumes that will be set to generate £470,000/ Day... or £173.9MILLION a year 😮😮 When the M6 Toll opened in 2003, the cost was £3 per car. In which the had manned toll booths an employees to pay... now they don't even have to pay for paper to print receipts. 🫰🫰 But its all cool, its going to the council to improve roads and help with local facilities... WRONG... its not owned by our Gov, its all owned solely by an Investment firm. *u*k Fredo's 🐸 the M6 is the real scandal of inflation in this country! Andy Burnham fancy building a M6 Toll+ that runs in parallel so we can stop getting ripped off by fancy investment groups that have likely 10 folded their yearly profit off of 27miles of tarmac. Tah pal. #M6 #£12scandal
-
John Couzins liked thisReally pleased to see this customer story go live. Very lucky to have worked with such an amazing team at Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd! Their objective was clear from the start and I’m incredibly proud of how our partnership continues to evolve! Daniel Lawrence Michael Kennard Lee Evans damian southard Aaron Smith Tim Cross Tom C. Cameron Nicol Matthew Smith to name a few! #highereducation #cybersecurity #partnership #SOCTransformation #securebrowserJohn Couzins liked this10,000 endpoints. 20 days. 1 unified platform 🛡️ Through platformization, Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd eliminated the complexity of four overlapping security tools to build a faster, smarter defense. The result? 🎓 A reduction in case resolution times from days to minutes 🎓 99.99% of threats now resolved automatically 🎓 Cybersecurity confidence with Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 expert-led support Robust security doesn't have to be complicated. Read more: https://bit.ly/3Rh0ANK
-
John Couzins liked thisJohn Couzins liked thisContents of my “Box of Cables” which resides in the loft: 15 year old Dell Desktop PC Canon camera battery charger Raspberry Pi 1 (15 years old) & Pi 4 with Pi camera and cabling BT Home hub 5 with box & cables BT Smart hub 2 empty box 4 keyboards (Microsoft, Jodel, Logitec & Shenzhen Loyal) 3 network cables 2 multi-socket extension blocks Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Gen 1 x Scart cable 2 x SVGA cable 1 x HDMI cable Numerous USB cables 2 x mouse wireless USB receiver, but no mouse Co-Ax TV signal booster Dell laptop power supply - (never owned a dell laptop so must be from a previous job) 2 x Kettle power leads 1 x generic laptop power supply 1 Western Digital SSD 500Gb 1 Samsung SSD 120Gb - looks to be counterfeit 1 External HD caddy with a Samsung 500gb HD (2008) 1 Seagate Barracuda 500gb (2012) 1 Seagate Barracuda 500gb (2014) Four of the same TP Link Wifi PCI cards, 2 are unused FebSmart (?) Wifi PCi card No name USB Wifi N adaptor Bag of Wifi ariels Motherboard box & paperwork As I am doing some tidying, I chose to recycle most of it at the local tip. Not likely to ever need a Scart cable, wireless mouse receivers or 4 spare keyboards. I have kept some stuff including the Raspberry Pi’s, and the hard disks which I used for onsite backups. No idea why I had so many PCI Wifi cards, so these have gone on Ebay. The BT Hub came with a prepaid postage bag to send it back for recycling - very good so I have used that. Next job is to tackle the "drawer of old mobile phones"
-
John Couzins liked thisJohn Couzins liked thisIn recent years, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been working to support more secure, scalable and sustainable infrastructure for data-driven health research, with trusted research environments (TREs) at the heart of that work. In particular, as AI and agentic technologies evolve, we've been asking a bigger question: what should the next generation of TREs look like? In the article below 👇, we highlight our current path towards supporting trusted analytics infrastructures that are more automated, vendor-agnostic and better capable of underpinning AI-driven research and operations across the Trust. #TrustedResearchEnvironments #SecureDataEnvironments #AI #ResearchInfrastructureFrom TRE to KARECTL: Our Evolution of The Trusted Research Environment in the Age of AIFrom TRE to KARECTL: Our Evolution of The Trusted Research Environment in the Age of AI
-
John Couzins liked thisJohn Couzins liked thisA huge record number of CVEs this month on Patch Tuesday! It makes customer quotes like this so much more relevant: “Exploring Tanium Atlas over the past few weeks has been a real eye opener. It shows how AI can be well integrated into a platform, rather than simply adding in a generic LLM. We feel like we are only scratching the surface, and every day we are finding new ways to use Atlas to gain deeper insight into our environment.”
-
John Couzins liked thisJohn Couzins liked thisWe’re very excited to welcome Professor Louise Dixon to Lancaster University this autumn as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education). From 14 September, Louise Dixon will take responsibility for shaping and delivering an ambitious, high-quality educational experience for Lancaster’s students. Professor Dixon is a Forensic Psychologist who was appointed as Dean of Science at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand before relocating to Glasgow Caledonian University as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education). Across her research, teaching, and strategic leadership Professor Dixon has consistently harnessed societal impact and innovation through higher education, and this is something that she hopes to continue at Lancaster University. Lancaster University Vice-Chancellor Professor Professor Stephen Decent said: "I’m delighted to welcome Louise to our university. At Lancaster, we’re very proud of our high-quality teaching, excellent learning facilities and the skills and knowledge of our graduates. Louise will contribute outstanding leadership and pedagogic expertise to Lancaster, and I’m confident she will play a major role in strengthening the education we offer." Professor Dixon said: "I am thrilled to be joining the vibrant community of Lancaster University and returning to contribute to the north-west region of England, where I grew up. I look forward to working with staff and students to build on our academic excellence and student experience, together."
-
John Couzins liked thisJohn Couzins liked thisThis week at UoM: 🗺️ Plenty of conversations about 3 year plan with colleagues across UoM, including finalising papers for some key groups 😀 Great session on our secure research plans, with constructive feedback from a key governance group 💰 One eye on year end, making sure we deliver on our commitments on time (feels very strange doing this in July rather than March) 🧠 Great catch up and brain share with John Couzins , CISO at Lancaster University 😍 Movement on ID Vault blockers, some really solid options appraisals on key decisions in the broader identity programme and finalising board papers
Experience & Education
-
Lancaster University
View John’s full experience
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
Other similar profiles
Explore more posts
-
Elephants Don't Forget
“It’s time to act” – that’s the message issued to organisations from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) - part of GCHQ, the UK’s technical authority for cyber security - in its Annual Review 2025. Next week, we'll be examining how your business can challenge assumptions, better quantify and mitigate employee-based cyber risk, and what leaders can do to embed a culture of cyber resilience. Register for our free 60-minute behavioural cyber security webinar on 21st October with specialist advisory firm, Pathlight Associates, here: https://lnkd.in/e3RxdPuR Read more on the topic here: https://lnkd.in/eNUTzkNx #Risk #CyberAttack #CyberCrime #CyberSecurity #CyberDefence #CyberResilience
Explore collaborative articles
We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.
Explore More