Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how will industry investment play a role in the development of autonomous offensive and defensive cyber tooling for the purpose of (a) national security and (b) defence.

Investing in cyber security is critical to all sectors of the UK economy, enabling long-term, secure and resilient growth. The UK is an attractive destination for cyber investors, owing to its collaborative environment, access to talent and skills, world-class research, and support to innovation. The Government partners closely with industry to secure the UK in cyberspace.

In particular, the National Cyber Force delivers the UK’s national cyber effects capability. It works in partnership with industry and academia to achieve this, for example through the Lancashire Cyber Partnership, a strategic collaboration to facilitate and boost cyber-led economic growth across digital industries, technology supply chains, and broader disciplines. This is just one regional example of many where we encourage investment in the UK’s cyber sector.

The National Cyber Security Centre is also working with industry to better understand and mitigate the risks from increased use of Artificial Intelligence by cyber threat actors, including those targeting national security and defence.