January 16, 2017

The impact of technology, especially cyber threats and wider technological developments, is one of the major security challenges facing the UK, according to the 2015 National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The Government has said it will treat a cyber attack on the UK as seriously as a conventional attack. The second National Cyber Security Strategy was launched in November 2016 to address challenges in relation to cyber security with a total budget of £1.9 billion for 2016 to 2021.

The Committee has called for written submissions and is particularly interested in hearing about:

• the types and sources of cyber threats faced by the UK;
• the effectiveness and coherence of the strategic lead provided by the National Security Council, departments, agencies, and the National Cyber Security Centre;
• learning points drawn from the first Cyber Security Strategy and the fitness for purpose of the second Cyber Security Strategy;
• whether the UK has committed sufficient human, financial and technical resources to address the scale of the cyber security challenge;
• the development of offensive cyber capabilities and the norms governing their use;
• ways in which the UK Government can work with the private sector to build cyber resilience and cyber skills;
• the balance of responsibilities between the Government and private sector in proptecting critical national infrastructure;
• the appropriate role for Government in regulating and legislating in relation to cyber both nationally and internationally; and
• how the UK can co-operate with allies and partners on the development of capabilities, standard setting and intelligence sharing.

The closing date for submissions is 20 February 2017. For further information, click here.