Government R&D unit puts millions into cyber network

Sofia Villegas November 14, 2024 in Defence and Security, News - 3 Minutes

Money awarded through Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will support work including the adoption of secure by design principles, as well as efforts to boost skills and track threats

UK Research and Innovation has announced a £6m funding package for a programme including efforts to connect organisations to expert staff and a network to track security threats and trends.

The network will help detect emerging global trends and national strengths in cybersecurity, as well as building greater understanding of the potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. It also aims to help bridge the skills gap by connecting businesses and charities to cyber experts.

Led by the University of Oxford, the new Cyber Security Research and Networking Environment Network Plus will aim to help the UK harness the benefits of emerging technologies and become more resilient against cyberthreats.

Funded by UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the initiative is expected to provide new insights into how to achieve security by design and forms part of wider efforts to make the UK “the safest place to live and work online”. The investment will be delivered in collaboration with the National Cyber Security Centre.

The network will help detect emerging global trends and national strengths in cybersecurity, as well as building greater understanding of the potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. It also aims to help bridge the skills gap by connecting businesses and charities to cyber experts.

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It will help train “world-class cyber professionals nationally, creating a long-term sustainable community”, UKRI said.

The initiative will set up face-to-face and online events, create special interest groups and set up regional activities with local experts as well as promote diversity and inclusion and offer small grants for “groundbreaking” research.

EPSRC executive chair professor Charlotte Deane said: “We live in a fast-paced digital world where smartphones, computers and the internet are part of our everyday life. We need robust cybersecurity so that we can better protect ourselves and trust the systems and devices that we use. This network will bring together key people from across academia and industry to work in the best way to better protect us against cyber threats and attacks. This investment underlines our commitment to enhancing the UK’s security and resilience, ensuring that we are prepared to adapt to the evolving challenges of our digital world.”

AI and digital government minister Feryal Clark said: “Since taking office we’ve made shoring up our cyber defences a national priority. To make sure they’re stronger than ever, we’ll be bringing in new laws next year as we continue to take steps to ensure our online economy and critical services are safe, resilient and secure. This network will bolster those efforts, building up a better picture of where our strengths lie and where the gaps we need to plug are, all while supporting our expert cybersecurity workforce to drive forward their careers and become the UK’s cyber leaders of tomorrow.”

UKRI was created in 2018 and manages and awards funding to support research and development projects. It operates as a non-departmental public body, under the oversight of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.