The Minister for Business has announced a raft of new measures designed to help protect businesses from cybercrime.
The news comes after new research found that some four in 10 businesses have experienced a cybersecurity breach or attack in the last 12 months.
Commenting on the report, the Business Secretary Greg Clark said the changes would “eradicate” some of the most damaging cybersecurity threats facing businesses and better protect consumers.
Under the proposed plans, £70 million will be invested into developing new hardware with built-in security and protection technology and solutions to help counter a “significant proportion” of the current cyber risks for businesses and services in future connected smart products.
It is believed that this is in response to a number of smart devices, such as TVs and light bulbs, being exploited by cyber hackers. Smart technology is usually much more vulnerable to attacks than regular devices, as they are not consistently updated to deal with the latest threats.
The Government has also announced a further £30 million investment with the aim of ensuring such smart systems are “safe and secure”.
In an office environment, smart devices can include anything from an automated central heating system to smart doorbells and alarms. It is estimated that some 420 million smart devices will be used across the UK within the next three years.
Commenting on the figures, Mr Clark said: “This could be a real step-change in computer and online security, better protecting businesses, services and consumers from cyber-attacks resulting in benefits for consumers and the economy. With businesses having to invest more and more in tackling ever more complex cyber-attacks, ‘designing in’ security measures into the hardware’s fabric will not only protect our businesses and consumers but ultimately cut the growing cybersecurity costs to businesses.”
Digital Minister, Margot James added: “We want the UK to be a safer place to live and work online. We’re moving the burden away from consumers to manufacturers, so strong cybersecurity is built into the design of products. This funding will help us work with industry to do just that, improving the strength and resilience of hardware to better protect consumers from cyber-attacks.”