As our Cyber Incident Response Manager, it’s Alan’s job to protect our fleet of nuclear power stations and new nuclear build sites from cyber-attack, by making sure that we respond to attacks effectively. Find out what we’re doing to keep our business secure and how EDF supports Alan’s volunteering as a cyber reservist.
Working in cyber security
What does your role involve?
It’s my job to make sure our nuclear fleet is in a safe cyber place and we’re able to respond safely in the event of a cyber incident. The two main elements of my job are ensuring the safety of our systems so we can continue to generate power safely. And protecting our information and intellectual property so it stays within the business.
To give an analogy, the work we do in cyber security builds a secure fence around our operations – in the same way we have physical fences around our power stations.
Which organisations do you work with outside EDF?
We speak regularly with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). I’m also a cyber reservist in my spare time so I dedicate some of my time to doing military intelligence. The work is very synergistic: I bring learnings from my military training to EDF and I also take knowledge from how we work at EDF to improve operations in the military.
How does EDF support you as a cyber reservist?
They’re very supportive. I have two weeks a year of paid leave to do training with the military and I’m also a member of the Armed Forces Network within EDF, which provides support and advice.
“The chance to work at a nuclear power station really excited me; I was fascinated by how nuclear gives us energy security”
What’s been your career path to cyber security?
I come from an IT background. When I left university, I joined a graduate scheme at Anglia Water doing information security. As I progressed through my career and became a technical lead for different firms, I drifted into cyber security. I was working for a small company and they didn’t have anyone doing information security so I did both the security manager’s job as well as the technical lead role.
I moved into the nuclear sector when I joined EDF as the IT Manager at Torness power station in 2016.
What motivated you to come and work at EDF?
I loved the idea of working at a nuclear power station. I’ve always been interested in industrial systems, which is why my first job was in the water industry. But the chance to work at a nuclear power station really excited me. I was fascinated by how it operates, how nuclear gives us low carbon power and energy security. It’s why when I joined Torness, I threw myself into everything: becoming a radiation protection supervisor, learning about plant computing, basically anything related to the technology at the power station.
Life in Nuclear Services
How did you move from IT into cyber security?
While working as IT Manager, I spotted some opportunities for us to do things better in cyber security. When a job came up for me in the Nuclear Services team to solve some of the problems I’d been looking at, I jumped at the opportunity to move into this space.
Which parts of the business do you support?
I support nuclear operations (our existing fleet of nuclear power stations), Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C – and they’re quite different in the type of support they need.
What do you enjoy most in your role?
What gives me a buzz is doing a job that gets us into a more resilient position. I’m also very aware of our mission and that really motivates me. I’ve worked at other firms before and not really been interested in what they produce. But here, at EDF, we are literally keeping the lights on and giving the UK energy independence. That really resonates with me and I’m proud to be part of the nuclear sector.
How is your role in Nuclear Services different to your previous position at Torness?
I started my current role in Nuclear Services at the start of 2022. What’s interesting is that when you work at a power station you really only have a view of what goes on at your own power station; you don’t necessarily see the bigger picture.
But what I get to do now in Nuclear Services is see across our entire fleet of nuclear power stations. You start to see patterns that you might not otherwise see when you’re only working on one site. I feel sometimes like I’m a cyber spider in the middle of a giant web: I help people share their experiences, encourage others, and try to get the best out of everyone by bringing it all together.
“I’m very aware of our mission and that really motivates me”
Where are you based?
I still live quite close to Torness power station so most of my work is remote. But I go down to Gloucester regularly, where most of the Nuclear Services team are based. I travel around the fleet too and in the last couple of months, I’ve been to Sizewell B, Hinkley Point B, Heysham 1 and 2, and Torness, of course.
What’s the culture like in Nuclear Services?
It’s very collaborative. My impression is that I can ask anyone a question and they’ll offer advice and help. We’re also getting into a place where we’re known around the business as the place to go if you have a general question about nuclear services – or our cyber incident response, for instance. We have that wider view of what’s going on across the fleet and new nuclear build sites, which you don’t get from working on a single site.
It's part of our nuclear safety culture across the business that we can speak truths to power. So, if something doesn’t seem right, we all have the power to speak up. This is particularly true in Nuclear Services because we’re also a separate organisation. We have that additional freedom to flag if things aren’t quite right or need to change, as we sit across all areas of the nuclear business.
Working for EDF
What kind of training and development have you had?
Nuclear Services is a learning organisation. We’re encouraged to do continuous development and I’ve had a lot of training and development opportunities.
In 2018 EDF supported me to do a Master’s degree in advanced security and digital forensics at Edinburgh Napier University. Since joining Nuclear Services I’ve also gone on some really good cyber courses. I’m encouraged to spend at least 20% of my time keeping my technical skills up to date.
How do you see your time working in Nuclear Services helping with your career progression?
There’s a clear development path at EDF. I have a senior mentor who supports me and I’m looking to be the subject matter expert in what I do for the company. In the next five years, I’d like to be the Chief Information Officer for Nuclear Services.
“You feel like your contributions are recognised here and you can be yourself”
Would you describe EDF as a diverse and inclusive place to work?
What EDF does very well is value people’s diversity of thought. You feel like your contributions are recognised here and you can be yourself. It’s an inclusive workplace without feeling like a tick box exercise. The mentality seems to be that different people have different viewpoints, which makes us stronger as a business.
I’ve only ever experienced this kind of environment before in start-ups, where you have a mix of academics with siloed views, students fresh out of college and then business types. EDF has a similar mix of thematic experts and focused business people, but we manage to rub along together well. I feel very much at home and welcomed at EDF – even if I can be an awkward geek at times!
