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UK begins cybersecurity diversity drive

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Four new projects across England to encourage more women, BAME, and neurodiverse candidates into a career in cyber security have been announced by Digital Minister Margot James.

They will each jointly benefit from a total investment of at least £500,000 as part of the next round of the Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund (CSIIF).

The aim of the Fund is to boost not only the total number, but the diversity of those working in the UK’s cyber security industry. The government says the initiative will help organisations develop and sustain projects that identify, train and place untapped talent from a range of backgrounds into cyber security roles quickly.

The projects receiving funding are:

Crucial Academy: Diversity in Cyber Security – This initiative based in Brighton looks to retrain veterans in cyber security, in particular focusing on women, neurodiverse candidates and BAME individuals.

QA: Cyber Software Academy for Women – This project running in London, Bristol, and Manchester will train and place a cohort of women into cyber development job roles within industry. An additional cohort will also be trained in Birmingham as part of the West Midlands Combined Authority Skills Deal.

Blue Screen IT: HACKED – This Plymouth based initiative will scale up an already existing programme which identifies, trains, and places individuals, including neurodiverse candidates, those with special needs and those from disadvantaged backgrounds into a cyber security career.

Hacker House Ltd: Hands on Hacking, Training and Employer Portal – This project based online will develop a portal allowing for an increased number of people to be trained and then engage with employers.

The CSIIF pilot was launched in February 2018 and was open to initiatives delivered in England. The Fund is one of a range of initiatives designed in support of the National Cyber Security Strategy’s aim of developing a sustainable supply of home-grown cyber security talent in the UK.

Digital Minister Margot James said: “Our cyber security industry is thriving but to support this growing success we need a skilled and diverse workforce to match. These latest projects show that whatever your background, ethnicity or sex, there are opportunities to join the cyber security profession. We want to demonstrate that you can have a dynamic and exciting career in a sector that sits at the heart of our economy, and is a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy.”

Government wants to ‘design out’ cyber threats

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Business Secretary has announced measures for the UK to become a ‘world leader’ in the race against cyber security threats.

The government says businesses and consumers will benefit from increased security and protections built into digital devices and online services with the help of up to £70 million in government investment through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, backed by further investment from industry.

This investment will support research into the design and development of hardware so that they will be more secure and resilient from the outset.

The ambitious aim is to ‘design out’ many forms of cyber threats by ‘designing in’ security and protection technology/solutions into hardware and chip designs, ultimately helping to eradicate a significant proportion of the current cyber risks for businesses and services in future connected smart products.

Clark said the best defence in the future is seen as developing innovative solutions that can work independently and protect against threats even during attacks and that the government wants to ensure that every UK organisation is as cyber secure and resilient as possible.

A further £30 million of government investment will aim to ensure smart systems, such as doors and central heating systems, are safe and secure, with more than 420 million such devices in use across the UK within the next 3 years.

The government is aiming for R&D investment to reach 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

Clark said: “This could be a real step-change in computer and online security, better protecting businesses, services and consumers from cyber-attacks resulting in benefits for consumers and the economy. With businesses having to invest more and more in tackling ever more complex cyber attacks, ‘designing in’ security measures into the hardware’s fabric will not only protect our businesses and consumers but ultimately cut the growing cybersecurity costs to businesses.

Nearly all UK businesses are reliant on digital technology and online services, yet more than 40% have experienced a cyber-security breach or attack in the last 12 months. Hackable home Wi-Fi routers can be used by attackers in botnets to attack major services and businesses. Moreover, consumers are often the worst affected by mass information leaks than the organisation that held their data. Businesses are having to spend increasing amounts on cyber security, up to 20-40% of their IT spend in some cases. And as more and more systems are connected, whether in the home or businesses, there is a need for security that is secure by design.

Digital Minister Margot James said: “We want the UK to be a safer place to live and work online. We’re moving the burden away from consumers to manufacturers, so strong cyber security is built into the design of products. This funding will help us work with industry to do just that, improving the strength and resilience of hardware to better protect consumers from cyber-attacks.”

Dr Ian Levy, National Cyber Security Centre’s Technical Director, said: “The National Cyber Security Centre is committed to improving security from the ground up, and we have been working closely with government to promote adoption of technology and practices to protect the UK.

“We hope this additional investment will drive fundamental changes to products we use every day. This is vital work, because improving hardware can eradicate a wide range of vulnerabilities that cause significant harm.”

LORCA reveals second cohort intake

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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A second cohort has been announced by LORCA, focussing on securing supply chains and user-centric security.

LORCA (London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement) has selected 11 companies with relevant solutions looking to scale, either domestically or internationally, with the LORCA team offering support at its innovation centre, Plexal, along with access to experts from Deloitte’s Cyber Risk Service teams and the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen’s University, Belfast.

Lydia Ragoonanan, LORCA’s Director, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome these high-potential UK companies that have genuinely promising solutions to the biggest industry challenges in cybersecurity. The engagement from industry in the development and selection process ensures that the cohort has clear markets to scale into and is addressing the cyber challenges that will make the most difference to industry. Following on from the success of first cohort, we look forward to seeing these 11 companies grow and thrive.”

The 11 members of the second cohort are:

• CyNation
• RazorSecure
• Bob’s Business
• Cypto Quantique
• OutThink
• Distributed Management Systems
• ObjectTech
• Xanadata
• CyberSmart

Minister for Digital Margot James said: “This latest round of companies selected by LORCA highlights how the UK continues to be at the forefront of cyber innovation. Supporting these businesses through all stages of their growth will help make the UK the safest place to be online and ensure that through the government’s modern Industrial Strategy the UK maintains its position as a world leader in cybersecurity.”