Cyber security bosses predict vulnerability among UK firms

Heads of British cyber security has claimed that UK companies will be susceptible to a “significant and growing wave” of cyber crime as a result of the hike in skills shortage.

National Cyber Security Centre Director Ciaran Martin told attendees of the recent CyberUK conference that businesses need to prepare for the increasing threat, while GCHQ outgoing director Robert Hannigan claimed that the skills shortage would increase dramatically within the next 10 years. Whether UK firms will have enough talent available in the future to fill cyber security jobs remains to be seen, but they would clearly be wise to take advantage of the talent currently available while they can.

The warnings were delivered at the recent conference, which was held in London. Martin voiced his concern that businesses were failing to react quickly enough to the threat when he addressed the 3,000-strong crowd, with attendees representing both government and the private sector.

He said:

“If we don’t get cyber security right, the fundamentals of our economy and our way of life could be challenged.”

He went on to say that, as has been stated previously on many occasions, cyber security has become a boardroom issue as opposed to an issue for the IT department, especially with such regulation as  the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the pipeline.

Hannigan said that there were five “game-changing” cyber attacks last year alone, which included a cyber heist that was the largest ever on record.