Countries also sign cyber cooperation pledge
In a ceremonial opening of the CHOGM event, soldiers carried down The Mall the flags of the 53 Commonwealth nations Credit: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/PA Images
The government is to invest £15m to help Commonwealth countries boost their cybersecurity credentials.
Prime minister Theresa May announced the investment as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which is taking place this week in London. Heads of state used the summit to sign the Commonwealth Cyber Declaration, in which leaders pledged to increase the national cybersecurity capabilities of their respective countries. The declaration also saw Commonwealth states commit to cooperating more closely to combat cyberthreats.
Related content
- UK and US authorities unite to ‘hold Russia to account’ for sustained cyber offensive
- NSA: ‘We have not responded to a zero-day in two years – our adversaries are hitting known vulnerabilities’
- NCSC’s Dr Ian Levy on why the UK must ‘turn cybersecurity into a science’
More than a third – £5.5m – of the funding package will be spent on helping “low- and middle-income Commonwealth members to carry out national cybersecurity capacity reviews before the next CHOGM in 2020”, the government said. Money will also be put towards projects designed to offer “technical assistance, training, and advice” on cyberthreats and how best to protect against them.
“Cybersecurity affects us all, as online crime does not respect international borders,” the prime minister said. “I have called on Commonwealth leaders to take action and to work collectively to tackle this threat. Our package of funding will enable members to review their cybersecurity capability, and deliver the stability and resilience that we all need to stay safe online and grow our digital economies.”
