Dr Madeline Carr, Deputy Head of STEaPP and Director of Research, reflects on CyberUK 2019, the UK government’s flagship cyber security event.

Last week thousands of cyber security practitioners, industry representatives, policymakers and academics gathered at the Armadillo in Glasgow for what has become one of the highlights of the annual calendar of events – CyberUK. The brainchild of the National Cyber Security Centre, this event offers a couple of days of carefully curated panel sessions, tutorials, games, social events and keynote addresses. CyberUK is an opportunity to pause and reflect on what’s happened in this dynamic space over the past 12 months, to get an update on strategic thinking that will shape the coming years and to engage with the very latest in research and development.

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Written by Tom Henderson, MPA Candidate in Digital Technologies and Public Policy

Getting involved in cyber security can often seem like a daunting prospect. Yet we know that organisations across the public, private and charity sectors are crying out for the next generation of cyber security professionals

In recognition of this, the UK Government has devised an Initial Cyber Security Skills Strategy, which focuses on ensuring that:

1. The UK has a well structured and easy to navigate cyber security profession which represents, supports and drives excellence in the different cyber security specialisms, and is sustainable and responsive to change
2. The UK has education and training systems that provide the right building blocks to help identify, train and place new and untapped cyber security talent
3. The UK’s general workforce has the right blend and level of skills needed for a truly secure digital economy, with UK-based organisations across all sectors equipped to make informed decisions about their cyber security risk management
4. The UK remains a global leader in cyber security with access to the best talent, with a public sector that leads by example in developing cyber security capability

However, the Government has openly acknowledged that there may be significant gaps in their approach. Therefore, on the 13th February 2019, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) hosted the first of a series of ‘call for views’ at TechUK in London to solicit feedback on their plans from a diverse range of stakeholders linked to industry, professional organisations, students, employers, existing cyber security professionals and academics.
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