#CYBERUK21: Home Secretary Outlines UK Government’s Plan to Tackle Growing Cyber-Threats

Cybersecurity has become a critical component of the UK’s homeland security mission, with more robust action from government required to deal with the dangers in this space. This was the message of UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, speaking during the CYBERUK 2021 online event.

Patel noted that as home secretary, it is her duty to keep citizens safe while at the same time protecting economic prosperity, with “cybersecurity and resilience [becoming] increasingly important” aspects of this, particularly given the technology shift during the COVID-19 crisis.

She described the growing impact of cybercrime, declaring that “the scale of this type of criminality is truly shocking.” For example, Patel said that in the year ending September 2020, there were an estimated 1.7 million cyber-dependent crimes experienced by adults in England and Wales, and the overall cost of computer misuse incidents impacting individuals has been estimated to be over £1bn.

Additionally, recent incidents have emphasized the cyber-threat to nations’ critical national infrastructure. Patel noted the recent ransomware attack on the largest fuel pipeline in the US. She added that the SolarWinds attacks at the end of last year demonstrated that “cyber-operations are often highly sophisticated, and many are very likely to be state sponsored.”

Against this backdrop, Patel said that the UK government is continually working on boosting the nations’ cyber-defenses. “Just as our adversaries are continually developing their tactics, we are always seeking new ways to bolster our defenses,” she outlined. This includes the cyberuk21 secretary outlines government tackle growing cyber threats