Home Secretary Announces £50 Million Funding At CyberUK

12 Apr 2018 01:44 PM

The Home Secretary has announced details of £50 million worth of funding for improving UK cyber defences on the second day of CyberUK.

Included as part of the £50 million is:

• £9 million for law enforcement working for action of dark web;
• Over £5 millions investment for regional and local operations;
• £3 million for Cyber Aware; and
• Money set aside for victims of cyber crime.

Touching on both the launch of the £13.5 million Cyber Innovation Centre and a new NCSC facility soon to be opened in Manchester, the Home Secretary spoke of how the UK must continue to expand its operations in all cyber security areas. As nation state conflicts are increasingly played out online and modern crime is primarily committed, she reiterated the need to ensure that UK authorities don’t just keep pace with cyber criminals but are steps ahead in terms of capability and resilience. The new centres will be one way in which Government achieves this objective as part of the National Cyber Security Strategy.

Increased funding for local and regional law enforcement is in response to recently released figures which suggest that only 30% of regional police forces possess sufficient skills and resources to respond effectively to cyber attacks. This is of course part of the wider challenge the UK faces in bridging the cyber skills gap.

techUK welcomes the funding announced by the Home Secretary and shares her view that industry should play a significant role both in ensuring they have sufficient security measures in place but also in being more generous with the skills they possess. Additionally, whilst industry already plays a strong role in supporting UK infrastructure more should be done where possible to support Government initiatives around skills, security by default and strengthening the UK cyber security industry and profession.