Summary: Business Secretary Vince Cable will place cyber security at the forefront of his agenda at the first ever US-UK Global Cyber Security Innovation Summit at the British Museum in London.
Mr Cable announced a £4m competition for UK cyber businesses to develop ideas to tackle cyber security threats. The competition will be run by the Technology Strategy Board, the government’s innovation agency.
New government funding will help small businesses in the UK cyber sector to grow, collaborate and develop new solutions to tackle cyber threats, Business Secretary Vince Cable announced.
Ahead of the summit, Mr Cable said:
“The growth of the cyber security sector in the UK is a great success story, worth over £6 billion and employing around 40,000 people. Building a strong and resilient cyberspace in the UK is central to ensuring that our companies can make the most of business opportunities online, whilst avoiding potentially costly threats to the information they hold and the services they provide.
“Maintaining innovation and growth requires continued investment. Committing a further £4 million will help businesses of all sizes turn their ideas to counter cyber threats into reality. Partnering with industry experts will also increase the opportunities for the UK’s small cyber companies to work together and grow their businesses.”
The Business Secretary will also announce the appointment of Andy Williams as ‘cyber security small business champion’. Mr Williams will work to showcase the capability of small and medium-sized cyber businesses at UK and international events, delivering business advice and establishing an online portal to share information about national initiatives with the cyber business community.
The US-UK Global Cyber Security Innovation Summit is supported by the UK and US governments and brings together representatives of British and American government and businesses to encourage the creation of new partnerships and projects to tackle threats to our cyberspace.
