Bletchley Park partners with McAfee
Courtesy Bletchley Park Trust
After the full restoration is complete, Bletchley Park aims to attract 250,000 visitors a year and provide school visit facilities for more than 16,000 pupils each year.
The partnership – the largest in McAfee’s history outside the US – is part of the ongoing restoration at Bletchley Park, the first phase of which will open in time for the 70th anniversary of D-Day in June 2014. McAfee will sponsor an international Cyber Security Exhibition and Computer Learning Zone, which will be located in a block of Bletchley Park which has sat derelict for decades, and will reopen as a new Visitor Centre after restoration.
The partnership brings together two organisations highly committed to keeping people of all ages safe online. Workshops will be run at the new Computer Learning Zone to engage, inspire and educate visitors about the ever-evolving cyber threat. Children and adults alike will learn how the breathtaking achievements of the World War Two Codebreakers remain relevant today.
The onsite learning will be supported by McAfee’s Online Safety for Kids programme, which will see McAfee staff volunteer to teach safety courses and provide schools, children, and parents with helpful tips and information on safely navigating cyberspace. In addition, McAfee is sponsoring an Online Safety Education Officer, who will provide e-learning strategies, advice and training.
“McAfee is immensely proud to be involved with the preservation and development of such a vital part of British and world history,” said Gert-Jan Schenk, president EMEA at McAfee. “McAfee works tirelessly to protect against ever-increasing online threats and working with Bletchley Park allows us to make a real impact on the cyber security education of children. Helping to keep the next generation safe was a key driver for partnering with The Bletchley Park Trust, not to mention the chance to help commemorate the part Bletchley Park played in the birth of the information age.”
Iain Standen, CEO at Bletchley Park Trust said of the partnership: “The work undertaken at Bletchley Park made a real difference and helped to change the course of history. With McAfee’s help, we hope to inspire the next generation of potential Codebreakers and cyber security experts to keep us safe in the digital world.”
“McAfee’s primary threat analysis centre for Europe, the Middle East and Africa is located nearby in Aylesbury,” said Paul Gartside, UK VP of development at McAfee. “The partnership with Bletchley Park will see the sharing of technology, equipment and intelligence by people at the leading edge of modern day threats.”
Courtesy Bletchley Park Trust
“The Codebreakers at Bletchley Park during World War Two battled against the very real threat of invasion” said Sir John Scarlett KCMG OBE, Chairman of the Bletchley Park Trust. “Today, when we live so much of our lives online, it is vital to understand how best to remain safe in the digital world. Our strategic partnership with McAfee is a fitting tribute to the pioneering men and women who helped to shorten World War Two.”
