UK to Boost Cyber-Defense Training

The UK government will invest a total of £1.3 million to boost cyber-defense innovation. The funds will also be used to support upskilling initiatives across the country, as well as implementing new data protection measures.

The government explained the cash will be made available for universities, local councils, and enterprises to roll out cybersecurity training schemes and to develop innovations in cyber defense. Grants of up to £150,000 will be awarded, with the program arranged by government agency Innovate UK. A separate initiative was also launched to find the best young cyber talent to represent the UK on the global stage.

Rollout of the schemes comes as the government last week decided to classify data centers as critical national infrastructure, a step expected to prevent any form of sensitive data including NHS records and financial information from being compromised during outages, attacks, or adverse weather events. Citing figures from a recent survey, the government said that 44% of UK businesses do not have the fundamental skills to protect themselves from cyber-attacks and the new program is designed to help address this.

Feryal Clark, Under-Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government whose remit includes cybersecurity, described cybercrime as“a shared challenge. She added it brings together global allies to discuss and agree on steps to keep people safe online, improve cyber skills, and protect the UK's economy and public services.