UK to increase national cyber defence grid

Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a £1.9 billion government National Cyber Security Strategy. Automatic defences to stop hackers hijacking websites or spoofing official domains will be enhanced due to the funding, while other defences that intercept booby-trapped emails or shut down thieves impersonating bank websites will also be expanded. Almost doubling the funding commitments of the first strategy which ran from 2011, the plans will set out the necessary action needed to protect the UK economy and the privacy of British citizens, and will also encourage industry to ramp up efforts to prevent cyber attacks. The approach on cyber is a core part of the upcoming Industrial Strategy, in which Hammond outlined how cyber security underpins our daily lives such as through domestic devices in our homes and cars, air traffic control and power grids. The Chancellor also reinforced how the threat of attacks invade our privacy and threaten our national security and set out how the government plans to deal with it. The strategy is underpinned by three key areas: defence, deter and develop. The strategy sets out how government will strengthen its own defences as well as making sure industry takes the right steps to protect Critical National Infrastructure in sectors like energy and transport. Secondly, significant investment will go towards taking the fight to those who threaten Britain in cyber-space and relentlessly pursuing anyone who persists in attacking us. Thirdly, through the develop strand, the Chancellor also announced a new Cyber Security Research Institute - a virtual collection of UK universities which will look to improve the security of smart phones, tablets and laptops through research that could one day make passwords obsolete. Philip Hammond said: “Britain is already an acknowledged global leader in cyber security thanks to our investment of over £860 million in the last Parliament, but we must now keep up with the scale and pace of the threats we face. Our new strategy, underpinned by £1.9 billion of support over five years and excellent partnerships with industry and academia, will allow us to take even greater steps to defend ourselves in cyber space and to strike back when we are attacked.” Ben Gummer, Minister for the Cabinet Office & Paymaster General, added: “No longer the stuff of spy thrillers and action movies, cyber-attacks are a reality and they are happening now. Our adversaries are varied - organised criminal groups, ‘hactivists’, untrained teenagers and foreign states. “The first duty of the government is to keep the nation safe. Any modern state cannot remain secure and prosperous without securing itself in cyberspace. That is why we are taking the decisive action needed to protect our country, our economy and our citizens. We can be proud that the UK leads the world in cyber security.”