CATA Cybersecurity Working Group Holds Q3 Meeting on Cybersecurity Skills and Workforce Development

The CATA Cybersecurity Working Group, under the leadership of Ashvin Luckoo of Mauritius as Chair and Ismaila Jawara of The Gambia as Deputy Chair, held its Q3 quarterly session on 30 October, focusing on people, skills and retention in cybersecurity.

Dave Benson-Hill, Head of Strategic Workforce Planning and Resourcing at HMRC Security, shared HMRC’s experience of recruiting and retaining cyber specialists, including the challenges posed by a competitive labour market and the importance of developing staff internally rather than relying solely on external recruitment.

Ahmed Hussain, Director of Enterprise System Security at the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA), then shared MIRA’s experience of building cyber capability within a small tax administration, where specialist skills are scarce and the security team must make careful choices about which capabilities to maintain in-house.

The presentations prompted a good discussion among members, who shared their own experiences of these challenges and the approaches being taken within their administrations.

The session also provided an opportunity to consider how CATA members can continue to learn from one another in developing cyber capability.

This session forms part of a series of quarterly substantive sessions designed to strengthen the cyber resilience of CATA member tax administrations through peer learning and the sharing of practical experiences and outputs.