Codebreakers: Cybersecurity School At Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park is once again set to host some of the UK’s brightest minds, but this time they will be trying to protect codes, rather than break them.

The former World War II code-breaking site will soon be home to the National College of Cyber Security, according to a recent statement.

The plans for the new campus, which aims to open in 2018, were announced by QUFARO, a new body staffed by senior figures from the cybersecurity sector, ranging from the National Museum of Computing to BT Security and Raytheon Co.

QUFARO also hopes to launch a 50 million pound, ($62.15 million), innovation fund focused on the cybersecurity industry. 

The new college will be a boarding school for 16 to 19-year-olds, and will be housed in G-Block, one of the larger buildings on the Bletchley Park site that has since fallen into disrepair.

Located about 50 miles north of London, Bletchley Park became the hub for Britain’s code-breakers during World War II. An eclectic mixture of staff, which included computer scientist Alan Turing who helped crack the German Enigma and Lorenz ciphers, and have been widely credited for shortening the conflict.

More recently, a number of UK companies have been dealing with public hacking cases, including Tesco Bank, UK telecom company Three and TalkTalk Telecom Group Plc, leading lawmakers to urge greater efforts to improve cybersecurity.

“There is a critical skills gap in the cybersecurity industry,” said Stephanie Daman, QUFARO executive director and chief executive officer of Cyber Security Challenge UK.

Information Management:     UK National Cyber Security College Locates To Bletchley Park: