According to The Prime Minister the investment demonstrates a significant step forward in dealing with terrorist plots hatched thousands of miles away which impact national security.
Brian Lord, Managing Director of PGI Cyber, which includes the newly created PGI Cyber Academy said: "This level of investment in national capability is significant and reflects, yet again, the government's strong message on the risk we face from Cyber attacks. However, it is important that this isn't interpreted as relieving the role that the private sector must take in building and managing its own protection to the myriad cyber threats that appear daily.
"This Government investment of public money in capability is to defend the nation against the most catastrophic and damaging attacks. It can only deliver the intended effect if all elements of the private sector match the same resolve and protect the data they hold and the systems they operate. The private sector needs to train and educate its staff how to do so through secure, but proportionate, measures.
The UK's national security is built on an integrated and inter-connected public and private sector model; and the threat is equally multi-dimensional. The UK's Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) depends upon many companies and businesses involved in the energy industry, financial sector, agriculture and food, public health and transportation; it isn't just the military and defence sectors that are responsible for protecting the UK from hostile cyber acts, they represent only a small proportion of the effort needed. Companies of all sizes need to be responsible for protecting themselves.
But we recognise there is a need to help steer the private sector through what has become an unnecessarily complicated issue. Senior private sector leaders and management need sensible advice and information about the nature of the risk and threat and what are proportionate, not excessive, measures needed for their business. Information and IT security staff need help and training to execute those measures in the same way. And when information security and business growth and prosperity are recognised mutual enablers rather than contradictory issues; then the conditions for both national growth and security will have been set, and the public money needed to sustain that security and prosperity will be spent to optimum effect."