Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has formally launched the UK Government’s new National Cyber Security Strategy and promised £1.9 billion of investment to underpin it.
The new strategy outlines how the UK will:
- Use automated defences to safeguard citizens and businesses against growing cyber threats;
- Support the UK’s growing cyber security industry;
- Develop a world-class cyber workforce;
- Deter cyber-attacks from criminals and hostile actors.
The National Cyber Security Strategy is a core part of the upcoming Industrial Strategy said Hammond. He explained how increasingly vulnerable society is to cyber-attacks thanks to the expanding range of connected devices which are creating more opportunities for exploitation; more demand for training and skills; old legacy IT systems used by many organizations in the UK and the readily available suite of user-friendly hacking tools. The Chancellor also emphasised the responsibility that CEO’s have to make sure their organizations are secure against cyber attacks.
The National Cyber Security Strategy includes dedicated actions through three key areas:
Defence:
The strategy sets out how Government will strengthen its own defences as well as making sure industry takes the right steps to protect critical national infrastructure in sectors like energy and transport. It will do this through working in partnership with industry to use automated defence techniques to reduce the impact of cyber attacks by hackers.
Deter:
Significant investment will go towards taking the fight to those who threaten Britain in cyber space. This will be done in part through strengthening law enforcement capabilities to raise the cost of cyber crime, building international partnerships and being clear that the UK will defend itself in cyberspace and strike back against those that try to harm the country.
Develop:
The new plan places strong emphasis on developing the nation’s capabilities to keep pace with cyber threats. The Chancellor announced a new cyber security research institute - a virtual collection of UK universities - which will look to improve the security of smart phones, tablets and laptops through research that could one day make passwords obsolete. This builds on ‘a range of cutting edge skills and education initiatives, including cyber apprentices, retraining schemes and an advanced cyber security teaching in schools, which are already being developed’. The Government is also creating the UK’s first cyber security Innovation Centre in Cheltenham, will launch a Cyber Innovation Fund next year to develop innovate technologies and products and are funding training and support for cyber start-ups and academics to help them commercialise cutting edge research and attract investment from the private sector.
