UK to back R&D for 'designing out' cyber threats

The UK government will invest up to £100.6 million ($184.8 million) towards helping eradicate some of the most damaging cyber threats facing businesses.

The government plans to invest up to £70 million in the new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which will seek to establish the UK as a world leader in ‘designing out’ cyber threats to digital products and services.

The fund, which will also be supported by investment from the private sector, will support research and development into designing hardware and chips to be more secure and resilient from the outset, by incorporating security and protection solutions into the designs.

In addition, the UK government plans to invest £30 million towards helping to ensure smart internet connected systems, such as IoT-based smart home products, are safe and secure.

According to UK Business Secretary Greg Clark, nearly all UK businesses are reliant on digital technology and online services, but more than 40% have suffered a security breach or attack in the last 12 months.

“This [initiative] could be a real step-change in computer and online security, better protecting businesses, services and consumers from cyber attacks resulting in benefits for consumers and the economy,” he said.

“With businesses having to invest more and more in tackling ever more complex cyber attacks, ‘designing in’ security measures into the hardware’s fabric will not only protect our businesses and consumers but ultimately cut the growing cybersecurity costs to businesses.”

The investment is also aimed at helping UK businesses carve out a larger slice of the cybersecurity market, which is predicted to grow to £39 billion in a decade. It also forms part of the government’s goal of increasing the UK’s public R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Federico Caputo

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