UK Government has said it’s at work on a ‘Cyber Security Growth Action Plan’. It’ll be drawn up by the University of Bristol and Imperial College London’s Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance.
What they say
DSIT (the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) says that the plan will be released later this summer and will feed into the forthcoming National Cyber Strategy. Cyber Security Minister at DSIT Feryal Clark said: “Cyber security is essential to our economic strength and national resilience. Today’s announcement is backed by investment showing we’re serious about making the UK a global leader in cyber innovation and protection. Through our Plan for Change, we’re backing the sector to create high-quality jobs through the Cyber Growth Action Plan and ensuring our public services are built on secure foundations with the expert support of the Government Cyber Advisory Board.”
Comments
William Wright, CEO of Closed Door Security described the latest update as further evidence of the Government’s commitment to strengthening the UK’s cyber security defences. He said: “Following closely behind the proposal on the UK’s Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, these updates highlight that the government fully understands the importance of cyber security in the digital world and recognises the importance of supporting the industry, not only to boost the economy but to protect UK PLC, citizens and the country’s infrastructure.
“Every organisation today is a prime target for threat actors, which means all organisations, from the largest to the smallest, must consider their security. However, for many of these organisations, they don’t have the in-house resources or skills to run security effectively, this is why bolstering the country’s cyber defence industry is so essential.
“We need to create a cyber security industry which is innovative and accessible to all businesses in the UK. It is also vital we focus on innovation, ensuing the solutions protecting our most critical industries are free from systemic risk.”
Haris Pylarinos, CEO and Founder at Hack The Box, said: “Revenue growth, employment figures and the volume of new firms launched in the last year exemplify the growing demand for cybersecurity capabilities. Recent high-profile cyber incidents, particularly in the retail sector, underscore the urgent need for greater expertise and innovation in cyber preparedness. This is central to protecting private business and public infrastructure. The sector also plays a huge role in supporting the UK’s wider economic growth ambitions.”
“Resilience against the next stage of security threats, including the increasing use of AI-powered attacks, relies on a thriving industry. That means accelerating AI security training to rapidly upskill teams, reduce risk exposure, and strengthen defences against an unprecedented and evolving attack surface.”
And David Shepherd, SVP of EMEA at the device protection firm Ivanti, praised the government for taking a broad, ambitious view of the cyber sector. He called it a promising first step, not just as a security issue, but as a key part of the UK’s growth strategy. He said: “Investment in startups, spinouts and skills is absolutely the right direction.
“To make the most of this moment, the review must zero in on the structural barriers that hold the industry back. One of the biggest today is collaboration, and while cybercrime groups operate like scaled businesses – networked, organised and fast – many UK defenders are still siloed, under-resourced and slow to act with our research showing 62% of worker say silos slow security response times.
“As such, I would love to see the plan explore how to enable more intelligence-sharing between organisations, better connect public and private actors, and fund programmes that break down silos between IT, compliance and executive leadership. We also need to look at why adoption of security innovations still lags, whether that’s down to talent gaps, lack of incentives or complexity. It’s not just about what’s available, it’s about how we scale it. This is the UK’s cyber expertise into real action.”
