More than £100 million in government funding was announced on Monday in a bid to make the UK a world leader in the fight against cyber threats confronting businesses.

Cyber security funding to come from BEIS funds and UK Industry Strategy

Business Secretary Greg Clark said £70 million would be allocated via the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to support R&D on hardware to ‘design out’ many forms of cyber threats by ‘designing in’ security and protection-technology solutions into hardware and chip designs.Additionally, a further £30.6 million from the government's Strategic Priorities Fund will aim to ensure smart internet connected devices are secure.The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the funding would ultimately help to “eradicate a significant proportion of the current cyber risks for businesses and services in future connected smart products”.

New cyber protection technologies will be smart and respond live to attacks

It added that the most effective defence against cyber threats in the future would be solutions that could work autonomously and protect against threats even while an attack was in progress.Mr 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.“This is our modern Industrial Strategy in action. Building on the UK’s heritage and strengths in computing and cyber security alongside the government and industry investing together to ensure the UK capitalises on its position to become a leader in the growing markets and technologies of tomorrow.”

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National Cyber Security Centre and government work to promote cyber security practices across UK

Ian Levy, technical director of the National Cyber Security Centre, added, “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.”

Further government funding to support diversity in industry

Coinciding with Mr Clark's initiative was an announcement by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport earmarking new funds to help drive diversity in the industry. Four new projects across England have been announced to encourage more women, BAME and neuro-diverse candidates into a career in cyber security, with each scheme benefiting from investment of at least £500,000.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.”Relocate’s new Global Mobility Toolkit provides free information, practical advice and support for HR, global mobility managers and global teams operating overseas.Access hundreds of global services and suppliers in our Online DirectorySubscribe to Relocate Extra, our monthly newsletter, to get all of the international assignments and global mobility news.

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