The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) is planning to setting up a £13.5m cyber security center in East London. This center will bring together industry, researchers and investors to help them identify new security problems and to develop innovative strategies to help solve and address them.
This London Cyber Innovation Centre will be based in Stratford at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This park is already a hub to a growing bundle of technology businesses. This center will be inspected by the innovative community Plexal.
This center will create up to 2,000 new jobs in the UK’s cyber-security sector as claimed by the government. Digital Minister Margot James states that, “London is the undisputed leader of European tech, with billions of investment flowing in every year and world-leading firms developing ground-breaking innovations.”
She further added saying that, “This new center in the Olympic Park will build on the site’s legacy of excellence and spark a wave of creativity to develop the cyber security technology of the future and help protect the nation’s industry.”
The investment made for this cyber-security center is taken for a five year, £1.9bn investment program that was announced by former chancellor George Osborne in 2015. Establishments working through this scheme will receive a lot of support from some leading security authorities; they will work with larger tech firms to help identify some crucial threats and challenges regarding cyber-security.
The government anticipates that at least 72 companies will be taking advantage of the state-of-the-art center during its three-year lifespan.
The companies will also get access to international support through the Global Ecosystems Partnership in Innovation & Cyber Security. Start-ups that are not accepted in the program will be able to access the center’s support and facilities up to a limit.
Plexel founder and CEO, Claire Cokerton says that, “The UK has a strong heritage in tech innovation and a fertile business environment for start-ups to grow. But our future international standing as a world-leading digitally-enabled economy depends on a robust and forward-thinking cyber security sector.”
She further added, “The center will help this to develop by delivering bespoke business development programs, engineering resource, professional services, access to corporate buyers and ambitious investors. Our mission is to bring the whole industry together to accelerate innovation, entrepreneurship and business growth for UK plc.”
Plexel focuses on specializing new business with artificial intelligence, augmented reality and the internet of things. They even launched a development program for women-led cooperation which was called Plexiglass.
Robert Hannigan, former GCQH director says that, “The London Cyber Innovation Centre will be the launch pad for a whole generation of new cyber security companies, benefiting both the UK’s economy and its security. By combining academic excellence, expertise in innovation and access to investment, the Centre is uniquely placed to secure this country’s preeminent position in cyber security.”
Source: Computer Weekly