Protecting Britain's digital security

Our dependence on digital technology brings with it new challenges in protecting the United Kingdom and our allies’ interests and security. Ensuring our digital networks are secure from espionage and attack is vital not just for our national security, but for our economy. Private companies’ intellectual property is often targeted by hackers, with the private sector being the largest economic victim of crime and economic espionage through cyberspace.

Cyber security forces national governments to rethink their approach to governance in order to tackle the problem. The re-routing of all UK, US, Australian and South Korean military and civilian government networks through China Telecom – even if it was an accident, as claimed –demonstrated that the problem does not respect borders. Other recent headline-grabbing events, such as the posting online of a conference call between UK, US and allied law enforcement agencies seeking to bring to justice a group of hackers, reveal the cross-border challenge of protecting our digital realm.

To this end, together with the All-Party Group on Homeland Security and the Henry Jackson Society think tank, I had the pleasure of helping to bring together over 40 parliamentarians, officials and experts from Nato, the EU, and 10 countries including the US, France, Germany, and Israel, in Parliament this week for the inaugural Inter-Parliamentary Strategic Dialogue on Cyber Security, an informal forum comparing policies and legislation affecting cyberspace.

Our government was quick to recognise the international nature of the challenge, with William Hague hosting a high profile summit on the issue last year. Our forum hopes to contribute to the work being done by widening the conversation.

Yet, while the cross-border work is fundamental, improving cyber security requires co-operation not only between governments but also with industry. Much of the infrastructure we need to protect in the UK is owned and operated by the private sector, as with many of our allies. Governments will need to build relationships with industry, avoiding stifling businesses with internet regulation while still ensuring that adequate measures to ensure the UK is free from threats. Our creation of a public-private sector information-sharing hub – including organisations from defence, telecom, finance, pharmaceuticals and energy – marks an unprecedented level of co-operation between government and industry.

There are still areas of concern. Attracting talent to the effort is one. There are no multicoloured beanbags and free massages in the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance, and the stereotype of a young computer whizz-kid is not someone keen to work for the government. This government has attempted to be innovative in finding ways to attract talent, but it remains a problem.

The financial resources available for the effort is another challenge. True, the Government has invested £650 million in the effort to shore up the UK’s cyber defences, and while a significant amount of that budget will be spent on projects necessarily out of the public eye, a serious effort is under way to get the best bang for our buck across all relevant agencies. But even the OCSIA has noted that this funding comes in the context of other cuts. We need to ensure that investment in UK cybersecurity meets the threats.

We are only at the beginning of the digital age and its extraordinary opportunities, and as such must build on the work so far, which I hope the Inter-Parliamentary Strategic Dialogue on Cyber Security will help to do.