Government signals bold intention to ‘design out’ cyber threats for business community
Business Secretary Greg Clark has unveiled a raft of measures that will see the UK become a world leader in the race to eradicate some of the most damaging cyber security threats facing businesses. Businesses and consumers alike 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.
The planned investment will support research into the design and development of hardware such that it will be more secure and resilient from the outset. This strategy aims to ‘design out’ many forms of cyber threats by ‘designing in’ security and protection technology/solutions into hardware and chip designs, thereby ultimately helping to eradicate a significant proportion of the current cyber risks for businesses and services in future connected smart products.
With cyber threats constantly evolving, the best defence in the future is seen as developing innovative solutions that can work independently and protect against threats even during attacks. 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 are safe and secure. Smart Internet-connected devices can include anything from operating a central heating thermostat via a smart phone through to pressing a button to unlock the front door. There are expected to be more than 420 million such devices in use across the UK within the next three years.