In conclusion I’d like to leave you with some key themes that come out of what I’ve just said.
Cyber is a real, live issue, bringing both threat and opportunity;
It’s not a narrow security issue for the spooks — but a wide economic issue that demands a holistic response.
Perhaps 80% of what we need to do is stuff we already know how to do — getting the basics of Information Assurance right will of itself raise the bar for malicious activity.
But ‘patch and pray’ will not be enough. At the national level, getting the rest of Cyber - the more difficult 20% - right will involve new technology, new partnerships, and investment in the right people.
Crucial elements within that will be:
a different approach to Government-industry partnership,
and work by academia to broaden our research base and establish the mechanisms that will develop a large body of genuine expertise in the UK.
But if we can get it right, then we have a real chance to keep our economy and our citizens secure. And, more than that, we can develop a world-class approach which potentially gives us a relative advantage — in security, military, and commercial spheres.
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