A new network aims to strengthen cybersecurity, realise the benefits of emerging technologies and better prepare society against future cyber threats.

The Cyber Security Research and Networking Environment NetworkPlus, led by the University of Oxford, is supported by a £6 million investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The UK is the third most targeted country in the world for cyber-attacks.

This investment will create new insights into how to achieve security by design and default.

Driving better cybersecurity

The goal is to drive better cybersecurity across the economy, including sectors from manufacturing and healthcare to law enforcement.

This will make businesses, charities, communities and people more resilient against cyber threats.

The network will provide leadership in spotting emerging global trends and national strengths in cybersecurity, including understanding the potential of game-changing technologies from artificial intelligence to quantum computing.

Securing the UK’s cyber future

The network aims to strengthen collaboration, knowledge exchange and skills across the sector to ensure the UK maintains its position as a leader in cybersecurity research and innovation.

It will establish the first learned society for cybersecurity research, bringing together researchers from across disciplines to focus topics and nurture relationships that will turn into research collaborations.

The new society will provide UK businesses, government and the voluntary, charity and community sectors with a key connection point to access experts nationally and internationally.

Supporting the UK’s cyber leaders of tomorrow

Minister for Cyber Security, Feryal Clark, said:

Since taking office we’ve made shoring up our cyber defences a national priority.

To make sure they’re stronger than ever, we’ll be bringing in new laws next year as we continue to take steps to ensure our online economy and critical services are safe, resilient and secure.

This network will bolster those efforts, building up a better picture of where our strengths lie and where the gaps we need to plug are, all while supporting our expert cyber security workforce to drive forward their careers and become the UK’s cyber leaders of tomorrow.

Protecting society against cyber threats and attacks

This network will address the aims of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) ‘building a secure and resilient world’ strategic theme.

The theme highlights the importance of enhancing national security across virtual and physical spaces by improving the awareness of risks and threats, preparedness, and decision-making and responses.

Bringing together academia and industry

EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Charlotte Deane said:

We live in a fast-paced digital world where smartphones, computers and the internet are part of our everyday life.

We need robust cyber security so that we can better protect ourselves and trust the systems and devices that we use.

This network will bring together key people from across academia and industry to work in the best way to better protect us against cyber threats and attacks.

This investment underlines our commitment to enhancing the UK’s security and resilience, ensuring that we are prepared to adapt to the evolving challenges of our digital world.

Driving meaningful progress

The investment is being delivered in close collaboration with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the UK’s technical authority on cybersecurity.

NCSC Chief Technical Officer, Ollie Whitehouse said:

This new network will help further open opportunities for the sector to collaborate on the most pressing cyber challenges, driving meaningful progress through our joint efforts to make the UK the safest place to live and work online.

By harnessing the UK’s rich cyber security expertise, fostered through initiatives such as the NCSC’s Academic Centres of Excellence and Research Institutes, we can amplify our impact and innovate solutions.

Collaboration between academia, industry, and government is an imperative if we are to further strengthen the UK’s competitive edge and enhance our national resilience to evolving cyber threats.

Helping to identify new areas of research

Project Lead Professor Andrew Martin from the University of Oxford’s Department of Computer Science said:

There is a pressing need for improvements in cyber security across a broad spectrum of social and technical research.

We want to help the community to identify areas where research can bring the most benefit and encourage its development right across the UK and beyond.

Nurturing talent across the UK

The network will contribute to the government’s work to develop the UK cyber ecosystem, ensure technology is safely developed and deployed, and help drive growth and skills across the country.

The network is particularly focused on supporting career development through:

  • face-to-face and online events
  • special interest groups
  • regional activities, drawing on local clusters of experts
  • promoting diversity and inclusion through equality of opportunity
  • small grants for groundbreaking research

This funding will help develop world-class cyber professionals nationally, creating a long-term sustainable community. Further details can be found here.