The Summary and Overview of UK Government’s Cyber Security Strategy

In an increasingly interconnected world, the UK government recognizes the critical importance of cyber security in protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, businesses, and citizens. The UK Government’s Cyber Security Strategy, updated in 2021, outlines a comprehensive approach to addressing cyber threats and building resilience against them.

This blog post will provide an overview and summary of the UK Government’s Cyber Security Strategy, highlighting the key objectives, priorities, and initiatives the government is implementing to enhance cybersecurity nationwide. Discover how we can all work together to ensure a safer and more secure digital future National strength and strategic advantage are increasingly being bolstered through cyber power.

Overview of the UK’s Cyber Security Strategy

The UK Government’s Cyber Security Strategy is built on three core pillars: Defend, Deter, and Develop. Each pillar focuses on a specific aspect of cybersecurity and outlines the government’s objectives and initiatives in that area.

Defend:

This pillar focuses on improving the UK’s digital infrastructure, networks, and systems security.

The government’s objectives include

• Enhancing the security of government systems and networks and critical infrastructure, such as power stations and water treatment plants.
• Supporting businesses and individuals to improve their cybersecurity defences through education, guidance, and incentives.They invest in research and development to enhance the UK’s cybersecurity capabilities.

Deter

This pillar focuses on deterring cyber attacks and punishing those responsible.

The government’s objectives include:

• Working with international partners to develop and enforce rules on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.
• Developing and implementing various measures to deter and disrupt cyber criminals, including increased law enforcement resources and international cooperation.
• Enhancing the UK’s ability to attribute and respond to cyber-attacks.

Develop

This pillar focuses on developing the UK’s cybersecurity industry and talent pool.

The government’s objectives include:

• Investing in education and training to develop a skilled workforce capable of meeting the UK’s cybersecurity needs.
• Supporting the growth of the UK’s cybersecurity industry through funding, research and development, and international partnerships.
• Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the cybersecurity sector.

Key Priorities and Initiatives

To achieve its objectives, the UK Government’s Cyber Security Strategy outlines a range of priorities and initiatives, including:

Enhancing critical infrastructure security

The government is investing in measures to protect critical infrastructure, such as energy, water, and transportation systems, from cyber attacks. This includes developing new regulations and standards, investing in security technologies, and improving the resilience of critical systems.

Improving the cybersecurity of businesses

The government is working with businesses to improve their cyber security defences through various initiatives, including the Cyber Essentials scheme, which provides businesses with guidance and certification on basic cybersecurity practices.

Strengthening the UK’s international partnerships

The government is working with international partners to develop and enforce rules on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace and enhance international cooperation in cybercrime and cybersecurity.
Developing the UK’s cybersecurity workforce: The government is investing in education and training to develop a skilled workforce capable of meeting the UK’s cybersecurity needs. This includes initiatives such as the Cyber Schools Programme, which provides cybersecurity education to secondary school students, and the CyberFirst programme, which provides training and work experience to young people interested in cybersecurity careers.

Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship

The government supports the growth of the UK’s cybersecurity industry, through initiatives such as the Cyber Investment Fund, which provides funding to cybersecurity startups, and the Cyber Innovation Centre, which provides a hub for cybersecurity research and development.

CYBERUK YouTube Channel

CYBERUK is the UK government’s annual flagship cyber security event hosted by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Bringing together government, national security, industry and academia to deliver world-class content, cementing the UK’s position as a responsible and democratic cyber power able to protect and promote our interests in and through cyberspace.

On this channel, you will find a range of content from previous events, conversations, topic reviews and insights into the forthcoming event. Check back regularly for new content in the lead-up to CYBERUK 2023!

What is the UK Government Approach to Cyber Security Issues?

The ability to defend and advance national interests in cyberspace is what we mean when we talk about cyber power. Secure, resilient, and affluent nations of the future will be best equipped to take advantage of the opportunities and weather the storms of the digital era. The United Kingdom is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, and the current administration has lofty domestic and international technology goals. This makes us more vulnerable to cyber threats and better positioned to seize its prospects for the good of UK residents and humankind.

The next decade will see the internet, digital technology, and the infrastructure that supports it become increasingly central to the UK’s interests and the interests of the UK’s allies and adversaries. As we carve out a new place for the United Kingdom in a more competitive era, increasing UK’s cyber power will help us set the standard for global industry, anticipate technological developments, protect UK’sselves from potential dangers, and gain a strategic advantage over their rivals. It will make the UK’s digital economy one of the safest and most appealing in the world to live, do business, and invest.

Over the past decade, the United Kingdom has emerged as a cyber superpower, with advanced cyber security and operations capabilities and a thriving cyber security industry. The government’s Integrated Review of Security, Defense, Development, and Foreign Policy led to three key conclusions, and this plan builds on those. First, the United Kingdom’s cyber power will become an increasingly crucial instrument for achieving UK’s national goals in the digital age. Second, to maintain UK’s cyber power, we need a strategy that considers all of the UK’s cyber goals and capabilities. And finally, we must take a societal perspective; what happens in the boardroom or classroom is just as crucial to the UK’s national cyber strength as the acts of technical specialists and government officials, and collaboration is critical to UK’s success.

Five mainstays of the UK government’s approach

To meet the goals they’ve set for UK’sselves by 2025, we’ll focus on five key areas, or “priority actions,” identified in the Integrated Review.

First pillar: Increase government, academia, and industry collaboration to fortify the United Kingdom’s cyber environment.

Pillar 2: Creating a safe and secure digital UK where people feel comfortable sharing personal information, and businesses can reap the full economic benefits of digital technology.

Component 3: Establishing U.S. preeminence in key technologies for cyber power, strengthening UK’s industrial capability, and creating frameworks to safeguard emerging technologies

Component 4: Working with government and business partners and disseminating the knowledge that underpins UK cyber power, Pillar 4 seeks to increase the UK’s worldwide leadership and influence in order to create a more secure, prosperous, and open international order.

Component 4: Enhancing UK security in and through cyberspace by detecting, interrupting, and discUK’saging UK’s adversaries through more integrated, imaginative, and routine use of the UK’s complete spectrum of levers is the focus of Pillar 5.

UK’s Vision for Cyber Security Concerns

In 2030, the United Kingdom will maintain its position as a leading responsible and democratic cyber power, capable of defending and advancing British interests in cyberspace to achieve national objectives.

British Policy Overview
The first-ever “Government Cyber Security Strategy – Building a Cyber Resilient Public Sector” (“Strategy”) has been released, outlining the steps that the government and the public sector will take to ensure that public services continue to operate despite increasing cyber threats. To “increase the country’s cyber resilience through improved sharing of data, skills, and capabilities,” the Strategy aspires to do the following. As a follow-up to the recently released National Cyber Security Strategy, which outlines the government’s plans to make the United Kingdom “a democratic and responsible cyber power,” this Strategy aims to do the same thing.

Important points summarised:

In it, we see two central tenets of the UK’s strategy laid forth. Developing a “robust basis of organisational cyber security resilience” is the first tenet. The second is called “defend as one,” It intends to develop a more thorough and joined-up response by the government, sharing cyber security data, experience, and capabilities across its organisations.

The frequency with which the government sector is the target of cyberattacks has led officials to conclude that there is a “substantial gap” in the country’s cyber resilience. As outlined in the Strategy, the government’s goal is to have all government organisations across the entire public sector be resilient to known vulnerabilities and attack methodologies by no later than 2030, to have essential government services be cyber-attack resilient by 2025.

The Cyber Assessment Framework developed by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will be implemented as outlined in the Strategy (CAF). The Cyber Resilience Assessment Framework (CAF) is intended to establish a benchmark against which the UK government can measure its cyber defences and those of other organisations providing critical services in the country. External auditors will validate the government agencies’ cyber resilience determination against the appropriate CAF profile. Independent audits will provide an unbiased assessment of the government’s cyber resilience and indicate critical areas for enhancement.

The government will set up a cyber coordination centre (GCCC) to better coordinate cyber security operations across government agencies. To detect, probe, and coordinate the reaction to attacks on public sector networks, the GCCC will also collect and share data on cyber security threats and vulnerabilities.

The public and security researchers alike will be able to report vulnerabilities in government-run online services through a centralised system that is now under development. The goal is to facilitate faster problem resolution inside organisations.

The Strategy acknowledges that cyber security risks are neither identified nor addressed without complete awareness of government IT, digital, and data assets and users. According to the Strategy, all government agencies must employ a system for the proactive and automated management of their assets. Government organisations need to know what data assets they manage, where they are stored or hosted, and how they are exchanged to assess the risks and implement the appropriate safeguards. In addition, the government is working on security schedules to help agencies request reasonable cybersecurity measures in government procurement.

To that end, the government will seek to raise everyone in the public sector’s level of cyber security awareness and expertise in light of the Strategy’s emphasis on the necessity of doing so.

The UK Government’s Cyber Security Strategy outlines a comprehensive approach to addressing and building resilience against cyber threats. Through its three pillars – Defend, Deter, and Develop – the government is working to enhance the security of the UK’s digital infrastructure, networks, and systems while also developing the UK’s cybersecurity industry and talent pool. This strategy is meeting its objectives by prioritizing critical areas such as the health and safety of the UK’s critical national infrastructure, which will increase UK citizens’ confidence in the government.

Sources:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cyber-strategy-2022/national-cyber-security-strategy-2022

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-cyber-security-strategy-2022-to-2030

https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/things-to-know-about-uk-national-cyber-security-centre-ncsc

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1049825/government-cyber-security-strategy.pdf