What are the barriers and opportunities for external investment in UK cyber sector companies? To what extent are these specific to cyber versus reflecting the UK investment landscape overall? What can be done to encourage investors to look at cyber companies based outside London and the South East?
Background
In order to ensure the UK is well protected now and in the future we need to build upon our existing knowledge of cyber security risks and the resilience of software supply chains and are working to identify which mitigations the government can leverage to ensure the UK is well protected now and in the future.
We’re also assessing the impact of these mitigations in driving enhanced security measures. A key area of research interest therefore is understanding the consequences of requiring higher levels of cybersecurity for products and digital services sold in the UK. Strengthening this evidence base will help shape and inform future policy work around the regulation of products and business requirements for cyber security.
Some technologies are critical to cyberspace. To build and sustain competitive edge in cyber-related technologies we need a coordinated, rigorous and consistent approach to identify and analyse critical areas of science and technology and prioritise national effort. CSDI is interested inbeing able to better anticipate the science and technology developments most vital to UK cyber power and in analysing thebe opportunities and risks related to those developments.
It is crucial to ensure that digital identity solutions are both secure and inclusive. The directorate seeks to gather further evidence on how best to enable more inclusive digital identity services whilst maintaining robust security measures. Digital identity solutions enable a person to prove something about themselves for the purposes of a transaction, an eligibility check or accessing services. This includes verifying a person’s age when purchasing age regulated products, when undertaking pre-employment checks or opening a bank account. The government is not mandating specific approach, but instead has committed to setting outcomes-based standards in the form of the UK digital identity & attributes trust framework. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-digital-identity-and-attributes-trust-frameworkbeta-version/uk-digital-identity-and-attributes-trust-framework-beta-version)
Organisations that adhere to these standards and agree to oversight from the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) will receive a trust mark, so that businesses and individuals can be confident that their digital identity solution is safe and secure.
Next steps
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Source
This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Topics
Related UKRI funded projects
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Cyber Local Meet The Buyer
UMi and Innovation SuperNetwork (ISN) in partnership with CyberNorth, is excited to announce the upcoming Cyber Local Supplier Village at Venturefest North East 2025. This addition to the established event will connect t...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Why might this be relevant?
Partially relevant as it focuses on connecting cyber security sector with businesses in the North East, but does not address barriers and opportunities for external investment or investor encouragement.
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Research Institute in Science of Cyber Security (RISCS) Phase 2
The Digital Economy is a key part of the strategy for UK economic growth. But as more businesses move into the digital space, they need to be able to protect their assets (such as their Intellectual Property) and process...
Funded by: EPSRC
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on developing security solutions for modern organizations, which directly addresses the barriers and opportunities for external investment in UK cyber sector companies.
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Strengthening the Local Business Community Resilience to Cyber Incidents and Reducing the Regional Cyber Skills Gap.
The [NEBRC][0] is a not for profit private company limited by guarantee. We are a unique partnership between police, academia and corporate business that exists to help businesses mitigate business cyber risks. Our miss...
Funded by: Innovate UK
Why might this be relevant?
Partially relevant as it addresses strengthening local business community resilience to cyber incidents and reducing skills gap, but does not specifically focus on external investment barriers and opportunities.