US and UK team up for cyber resilience test

The government in both the US and UK have collaborated on a new programme, with help from international financial companies, to evaluate how efficiently we would respond to cyber incidents in the financial sector.

The chancellor said that the exercise involved such participants as the Financial Conduct Authority, the Cabinet Office, the Treasury, and the Bank of England.

The purpose of the drill was to test the ability of both governments to share information, handle incident responses, and communicate to the public.

Chancellor Osborne said:

“Our national security is a priority for this government and that includes defending our cyber space.

“We train and prepare for the threat of a financial cyber-incident. That is why this exercise is so important, and we will continue to work with our partners in the US to enhance our cyber cooperation.”

US Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said that in a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected, cyber criminals are oblivious to national borders, targetting citizens, private industry, and governments. He said that teamwork is needed across the board and that the collaboration with the UK is a key step in doing just that.

Both governments will be hoping for positive outcomes from the exercise but they will also recognise that far more needs to be done. Personnel is crucial and they need to encourage more firms to open up cyber security jobs so that they can get the right personnel on board. Only then can they protect not only themselves, but personal data they hold on citizens of both the US and the UK.