Cyber Security Strategy

Thursday 11th December 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Mr Francis Maude)]

In November 2011 we published the UK Cyber Security strategy and each year since then I have presented an annual report to Parliament on progress against the strategy’s objectives. I am pleased to present the third of these reports to both Houses today alongside this statement.

The Cyber Security strategy set out the Government’s vision of “a vibrant, resilient and secure cyberspace” and set out four objectives:

making the UK one of the most secure places in the world to do business in cyberspace

making the UK more resilient to cyber attack and better able to protect our interests in cyberspace

helping shape an open, vibrant and stable cyberspace that supports open societies

building the UK’s cyber security knowledge, skills and capability.

To support the strategy we put in place a national cyber security programme backed by £860 million of investment to 2016. Through the programme the Government are working to:

further deepen our national sovereign capability to detect and defeat high-end threats;

ensure law enforcement has the skills and capabilities needed to tackle cyber crime and maintain the confidence needed to do business on the Internet;

ensure critical UK systems and networks are robust and resilient;

improve cyber awareness and risk management among UK business;

ensure members of the public know what they can do to protect themselves, and are demanding good cyber security in the products and services they consume;

bolster cyber security research and education, so we have the knowledge and expertise to keep pace with this fast-moving issue into the medium term; and

work with international partners to bear down on havens for cybercrime and build capacity, and to help shape international dialogue to promote an open, secure and vibrant cyberspace.

We have made significant strides towards all these goals this year and throughout the course of the programme’s existence. The long-term economic plan of this Government continues to make the UK one of the most secure places globally for cyber innovation and commerce. Notable highlights from this year include the inauguration of the new CERT-UK—computer emergency response team—which co-ordinates our national response to significant cyber incidents. CERT-UK has played a significant role already in protecting the Commonwealth games and the NATO summit in Wales from cyber threats. The National Cyber Crime Unit has led global law enforcement operations in conjunction with the FBI and other counterparts to target cyber criminals. We have also introduced a new scheme, Cyber Essentials, which sets a basic standard for cyber security for all organisations in the UK. Much of this work is done in partnership with business and the academic community and we are grateful to our partners for their co-operation and efforts, as it is clear that Government cannot deliver these goals on their own.

I refer hon. Members to the accompanying “Report on Progress and Forward Plans-December 2014” for details of achievements across all the objectives in the UK Cyber Security strategy and commend this to both Houses.

The report can be viewed online at: http://www. parliament.uk/writtenstatements.