A report released by the UK Cabinet Office reveals that the government is spending more on cyber security than it was a year ago.
The Office for National Statistics has unveiled a report showing an increase in the amount of money spent on cybersecurity in 2017, but the government is concerned by the report’s findings.
The report, for the year ended March 2018, reveals that government spending on cybersecurity has increased by £4. 6 billion – an increase of almost 3% compared to 2015.
But it also reveals the UK is spending more on cybersecurity than it was last year and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says the increase is a direct result of the public recognising cyber security issues and having confidence in the government’s response.
The report is due to be presented to the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy by the end of April. While it has not yet been formally approved it is expected that the Government will formally publish it in May.
The Office for National Statistics is the body that conducts the annual census of the UK population.
The report states that the amount of spending on cybersecurity has increased by £6. 8 billion in 2017, with the average increase being a £1. 03 billion increase.
It is worth noting that the ONS data is based on a survey of all major businesses, so those that are smaller, are less likely to be on the data, and for smaller businesses, may not be aware of cyber security.
In the UK, according to the ONS cyber security spending is a £7. 2 billion industry as of 2016, but the government is still spending far more on cybersecurity than many countries.
In 2014, the UK government saw spending of £10. 7 billion for cybersecurity. However that figure has fallen by over 20% since 2016, to £3.
The UK also has some of the highest rates in Europe for cybersecurity security and the UK has some of the highest rates out of all the UK states across Europe.
The Office for National Statistics said that although the UK spends a relatively high amount on cybersecurity, the government is concerned the spending is being driven by the public’s increased confidence in the government’s response.
Cyber Security Training for Whitehall Staff
Computer security is a growing need worldwide, as hackers continue to find more ways to cause harm. This report addresses the training requirements for Whitehall staff to protect sensitive or confidential information.
A recent security threat was not an isolated event: a group, known as “Stuxnet”, attempted to infect a Siemens plant in Germany in April with malware that could cause physical damage if not removed. Siemens has confirmed it has been infected by this threat. The virus was discovered by a German malware researcher, and his findings were shared with us. We’ve been in touch with Siemens and the researcher to get additional details about the attack, its scope, how it might affect the company’s supply chain and its future plans for security. We also share important information that has not yet been publicized by Siemens, including the fact that the affected company is a U. service provider.
The Siemens attack was one of a string of incidents that came to light this year at the U. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) facilities in Livermore, California, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where the agency has been storing highly classified and sensitive data for nearly a decade. The incident at Livermore — part of the DOE’s most sensitive infrastructure — is just one step in a broader trend in recent years where ‘rogue’ and potentially hostile foreign hackers and cybercriminals have become a significant threat to the national security of U.
According to a report by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) obtained as part of an open records request, there was a major breach of security at the Department of Energy’s Joint Functional Component Command-Energy Research Integrated Command System (JFCC-ERICS) in 2015. The JFCC-ERICS is an information technology infrastructure for the National Nuclear Security Administration; it contains the nation’s top-secret nuclear weapons storage and delivery operations.
A report by the NNSA’s Inspector General finds that the JFCC-ERICS was hacked by someone with malicious intent. The attack included scanning the company’s network and then inserting malware into a software used to process sensitive information on DOE network servers.
In 2016, the UK was faced with several national security challenges that needed urgent response from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The Department announced the launch of the Cyber Security Networking Foundation (CSNF) which would develop courses, courses and learning solutions for the Department to ensure that cyber security can be effectively addressed.
The Department’s Digital Innovation and Digital Transformation Task Group (DINT) also wanted the Department’s Digital Transformation Strategy to become a reality which is expected to happen between 2022–2030.
The Cyber Security Networking Foundation was one of the three projects that sprang up around the announcement of the DINT’s vision statement and strategy document. This was the first time the Cyber Security Networking Foundation was established, and it was created to meet the specific needs of the UK’s National Cyber Security Strategy.
In order to establish this new project, the NCS took the advice of industry stakeholders, including the UK’s leading cyber security providers, to come up with a clear set of core values to underpin it, ensuring best practice is incorporated throughout.
Knowledge sharing is at the centre of the project. The three main objectives of the Cyber Security Networking Foundation are to: (1) provide a strong foundation of knowledge in cyber security through training for cyber security professionals and members of the National Cyber Security Unit (NCSU) as well as other relevant staff; (2) offer a platform that combines online collaboration and face-to-face training between cyber security professionals and members of the NCSU; and (3) enable the Cyber Security Networking Foundation to develop a series of tailored courses, content and learning solutions within the UK’s National Cyber Security Strategy.
At the heart of CSNF’s vision around knowledge sharing is the belief that if all organisations, including government, can share the knowledge with others when preparing for the delivery of a national cyber security strategy then the strategy will become a reality.
Understanding and using a Cyber Security framework such as the Cyber Security Framework and Standards has a significant role to play in the Cyber Security Networking Foundation’s approach.
Houses of Parliament Think Tank
The House of Commons Network Security Policy Review Group held a meeting on 24 November in the House of Commons. The aim of the meeting was to discuss security matters and how Parliament can improve.
How Parliament can work to provide security for its members and staff.
The meeting was attended by representatives from Parliament’s Security and Intelligence Agencies, MPs and staff at the House of Commons and parliamentary staff of the Houses of Parliament. The meeting was not public. It was chaired by the Security Minister and the Chair of the Secret Service and Intelligence Services Committee of the House of Commons.
The meeting was attended by MPs from the House of Commons and Parliament staff. The group discussed the latest security issues of government IT systems. They also discussed how to work to improve the security of Parliament’s website and how to maintain the security of the House of Commons buildings.
In Parliament in the last two years, we have seen security incidents with the use of parliamentary IT systems on an almost daily basis for MPs and their staff. These have included the use of parliamentary computers in the House of Commons and other structures.
The latest incident concerned an issue that may have been caused by improper software installation. This has caused security issues for MPs and other staff members. According to some of the members attending the meeting, the issue was raised during a discussion about how to improve the software deployment.
“There will be some sort of software update coming, but what we have found is that most of the devices that MPs have on their desktops are not getting the software update. They also cannot get the software update to work. So we are concerned that these two issues have caused the security issues that we have had in the last 2 years.
The Members mentioned a scenario where some of the MPs’ staff have been able to install software on their PCs but have not been able to get it to work because the devices are protected and not in public access.
Mick Dodson, Intelligence Minister, said: “There is a lot of concern from staffers about the security of computers.
Spread the loveA report released by the UK Cabinet Office reveals that the government is spending more on cyber security than it was a year ago. The Office for National Statistics has unveiled a report showing an increase in the amount of money spent on cybersecurity in 2017, but the government is concerned by the…
