The UK is better able to deal with cyber threats than a year ago, according to Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude.
One year on from the inception of the UK Cyber Strategy, Mr Maude claimed in a statement yesterday that the UK is in a stronger position than a year ago, but that there is still much work to be done. "We've made progress raising awareness but this is only half the story," he said. "We will continue to improve education; stimulating cyber skills, support business and industry; increasing cyber confidence." In the statement, he announced a number of new initiatives which will be introduced next year to step up the fight against cybercrime.
"Having a clear strategy has put us in a much stronger position," the Minister continued. "We have further to go but we are moving forward. Law enforcement must not only compete with cyber criminals but beat them. Businesses and citizens are better aware of protecting themselves, and threats to our national infrastructure have been confronted." Mr Maude went on to say that programmes like Cyber Security for Business – which aims to help business leaders in their attempts to tackle the growing threat of cyber-attacks – will be integral for the UK to combat cybercrime.
"The private sector is the largest economic victim of cyber-crime, such as IP theft, and from economic espionage perpetrated through cyberspace. Much of the infrastructure we need to protect in the UK is owned and operated by the private sector. That is why a pioneering partnership between the public and private sector is vital and will be enhanced early next year," he said.
