Matt Hancock, the current Minister for Digital and Culture, has told the CBI Cyber Conference that "our cyber security needs both government and industry to work together"
“Ultimately, cyber security is only something that can be done through partnership between business and Government,” Hancock told delegates.
“There are things we can do and things you can do - and it is vital we understand each other’s roles in that,” he added.
Hancock went on to praise the employer body, which represents one in three of the entire UK private sector, or nearly 200,000 businesses - for starting a cyber security conference stream.
That’s because IT security is now so important and embedded in the modern world, he pointed out, warning, “We must never put cyber security in a different box than the wide application of the internet.”
For example, he said, UK businesses “are being attacked for their finances, their intellectual property, their customer data”.
Protection investment
To help the country, the government is investing £1.9bn into the protection of UK cyber space, said the minister, but responsibility can’t be just the public sector’s alone, he warned.
“Ultimately the truth is this: the vast majority of cyber attacks exploit basic weaknesses, whether it is in software, in systems or in people. All organisations need good basic cyber security (as) this can tackle the vast majority of attacks…. tackling the basics well can do a huge amount for our cyber security, as nine out of ten cyber attacks involve human failing, whether deliberate - or more frequently, inadvertently.”
By keeping up to date with warnings, businesses can do a lot to help themselves, which in parallel with government safeguards will increase national digital safety, Hancock promised.
“Together we can - and will - build a secure and successful digital economy,” he concluded.
Click here for the full transcript of the Minister’s remarks
