The UK government significantly boosts the nation’s cybersecurity sector, allocating up to £16 million through a new Cyber Growth Action Plan. This initiative aims to strengthen the UK’s £13.2 billion cyber industry by channeling funds to startups, scale-ups, and university spinouts.

The University of Bristol and Imperial College London’s Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance (CSEP) will spearhead a project to analyze the supply and demand of cyber goods and services, including protective monitoring and encryption. This research will identify growth opportunities and explore emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden stated, “Today’s investment transforms innovative ideas into successful businesses nationwide. New research will support our mission to grow the economy. Recent cyber attacks underscore the importance of fostering this sector, delivering high-paying jobs and strengthening the country’s cybersecurity.”

The government commits an additional £10 million to the CyberASAP program over the next four years. This funding empowers the UK’s academic cyber sector to commercialize research. The program has already facilitated 34 spin-out companies, attracting over £43 million in investment. The new funding targets an additional 25 spin-outs by 2030 and aims to secure £30 million in further investment.

Professor Simon Shiu, project leader and professor of cybersecurity at the University of Bristol, commented, “The UK cyber sector thrives and expands, but challenges intensify, as recent events affecting businesses and consumers demonstrate. This project, based on input from across the cyber sector, will provide independent recommendations to accelerate cyber growth and enhance cyber-resilience in other critical sectors vital to UK security, industry, and prosperity.”

Furthermore, up to £6 million will support cyber startups and SMBs, complementing the existing Cyber Runway accelerator. This funding will help businesses scale, access new markets through trade missions, and bolster the UK’s broader cyber ecosystem.

The government also established a new Government Cyber Advisory Board, drawing experts from the defense industry, major tech firms, AI labs, and academia. Executives from BAE Systems, Santander, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google DeepMind will serve on the board. This group will advise on public sector cybersecurity and expects to report later this summer.

This vital work will support the upcoming cyber resilience bill, which Parliament will introduce later this year. The bill includes proposals to safeguard the UK’s supply chains, critical national services, and IT service providers, with specific support for hospitals and energy suppliers.

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News Source: ITPro.com