New £6m initiative to boost UK-wide cyber resilience

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has invested £6m in a new network to boost the national cybersecurity ecosystem.

Led by the University of Oxford, the new Cyber Security Research and Networking Environment Network Plus will aim to help the UK harness the benefits of emerging technologies and become more resilient against cyber threats.

Funded by UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the initiative is expected to provide new insights into how to achieve security by design and forms part of wider efforts to make the UK “the safest place to live and work online”.

Minister for cybersecurity Feryal Clark, said: “Since taking office we’ve [Labour] made shoring up our cyber defences a national priority.

“To make sure they’re stronger than ever, we’ll be bringing in new laws next year as we continue to take steps to ensure our online economy and critical services are safe, resilient and secure.”

The network comes at a time when the UK ranks third as the most targeted country in the world for cyber-attacks, behind the US and Ukraine - a cybersecurity crisis which costs an estimated £27bn to the UK economy per year.

North of the border, an exclusive Holyrood poll showed almost half of all public sector technology leaders have experienced a cyber-attack in their workplace, and two-thirds worry about breaches daily.

Clark added: “This network will bolster those efforts, building up a better picture of where our strengths lie and where the gaps we need to plug are, all while supporting our expert cybersecurity workforce to drive forward their careers and become the UK’s cyber leaders of tomorrow.”

It is understood, the network will help detect emerging global trends and national strengths in cybersecurity, as well as help understand the potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

It also aims to help bridge the skills gap, by connecting businesses and charities to national and international experts. 

It will help train "world-class cyber professionals nationally, creating a long-term sustainable community”, UKRI said.

The initiative will set up face-to-face and online events, create special interest groups and set up regional activities with local experts as well as promote diversity and inclusion and offer small grants for “groundbreaking” research.

It is understood the network will also establish the first organisation for cybersecurity research in a bid to bring together researchers from across disciplines and turbo-charge collaboration.

EPSRC executive chair professor Charlotte Deane said: “We live in a fast-paced digital world where smartphones, computers and the internet are part of our everyday life.

“We need robust cybersecurity so that we can better protect ourselves and trust the systems and devices that we use.

“This network will bring together key people from across academia and industry to work in the best way to better protect us against cyber threats and attacks.

“This investment underlines our commitment to enhancing the UK’s security and resilience, ensuring that we are prepared to adapt to the evolving challenges of our digital world.”

The investment will be delivered in collaboration with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the UK’s technical authority on cybersecurity.

NCSC chief technical officer Ollie Whitehouse said: “This new network will help further open opportunities for the sector to collaborate on the most pressing cyber challenges, driving meaningful progress through our joint efforts to make the UK the safest place to live and work online.

“By harnessing the UK’s rich cyber security expertise, fostered through initiatives such as the NCSC’s Academic Centres of Excellence and Research Institutes, we can amplify our impact and innovate solutions.

“Collaboration between academia, industry, and government is an imperative if we are to further strengthen the UK’s competitive edge and enhance our national resilience to evolving cyber threats.”