A cyber security expert from Buckinghamshire talked about meeting King Charles – and the biggest cyber security threats right now.

Dr Baljinder Singh Dhanda MBE from Amersham attended his investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on November 29, where he met King Charles for his services to UK cyber security after being nominated on Queen's New Year Honours List on December 31 2021. 

In the past Baljinder has set up the government’s cyber security council to improve the profession and get more people from diverse backgrounds into it, and has worked extensively with young people and schools to encourage careers in cyber security and STEM.

Meeting King Charles was “fabulous” – especially as guests don’t know until the last minute, who they’re actually going to see, he said.

Baljinder said: “I had a very pleasant chat with him, and it was great to see he was so interested in the subject.”

The best way for individuals and small businesses to protect themselves against cyber security threats was about getting the “basics right”.

“You don’t want to be the easy target.

“There’s really easy to follow advise from the National Cyber Security Centre, on how to get the basics right – makes it a little bit harder for the ‘drive-by’ criminals.

“For the individuals, it’s practical advise like what should my password look like, and should I store my password in a password manager. So, it varies depending on who I’m talking to.

“And that’s the wonderful thing about cyber security. I get to speak to people from all ends of the spectrum, and advising about very high-end technology, about using AI and machine learning to protect your networks through to have you considered using a password that’s made up of three random words and numbers and storing it into your browser.”

For governments and large companies, ransomware and phishing attacks were still the “most common ways to attack your business,” the 56-year-old dad said.

Although he has had time to get used to the honour by now, having his wife and children at Windsor Castle was “really special.”

“Also, it gives me a better platform to do the work I was doing before and help more people.

“It’s once in a lifetime experience.”

A moment he shared with his middle son after the investiture brought “a lump” to his throat as a dad.

“On a really personal level, when taking my middle son back to Bristol and he left the car – and it’s not the sort of thing we say to each other- when your son says ‘dad, I’m really proud of you’, that brings a lump to your throat,” Baljinder added.

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