UK Announces Plans For A Workforce Cyber Security Audit

The UK government has announced plans to conduct its second audit into the state of the country’s cyber security workforce. Ipsos MORI will carry out the survey of private businesses, public sector organisations and charities which will focus on issues around the employment and training of cyber security professionals.

The audit looks to build on the findings of its first report, published last year, which revealed that more than half of all UK businesses had a “basic technical cyber security skills gap”. Then, 51 per cent, admitted they weren’t confident in carrying out a cyber security risk assessment, while 47 per cent lacked confidence in developing security policies.

Also, Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured) has unveiled plans for a London tech summit to address his concerns about the rise of an “Orwellian world, designed for censorship, repression and control”.

Speaking to the United Nations in New York last month, the British prime minister warned of the development of “pink eyed terminators”, “limbless chickens” and a “giant dark thundercloud of data waiting to burst”.

He also talked up the opportunities presented by technology, particularly in the fields of medicine and healthcare.

“I am profoundly optimistic about the ability of new technology to serve as a liberator and remake the world wondrously and benignly, indeed in countless respects technology is already doing just that....Today, nano-technology is revolutionising medicine by designing robots a fraction of the size of a red blood cell, capable of swimming through our bodies, dispensing medicine and attacking malignant cells like some Star Wars armada.”

In a pitch to make the UK a “global leader in ethical and responsible technology”, Johnson invited heads of state to London in 2020 to agree a set of global principles guiding the industry’s development. Over the last two years, ministers have repeatedly stated their desire for the UK to play a leading role in the global debate about the ethics of new technology.

Critics have cast doubt on the extent to which Britain can shape the debate on tech ethics when it is leaving the EU and the world’s largest tech companies reside in the US and China.

New Statesman Policy:        News Satesman Security: 

You Might Also Read: 

Only 31% Of Employees Get Annual Cyber Security Training: