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Gov commits £50m to startups in ‘groundbreaking’ cyber security innovation programme

Innovative UK tech startups could soon find themselves on the frontline of global cyber warfare after the government announced a new £50m initiative aimed at nurturing the next generation of cyber security systems.

Plans for the programme, which is being run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and GCHQ, include two new accelerators run by accelerator network Wayra UK that will attempt to fast-track and commercialise products from participating startups.

Most alluringly for the young tech firms, startups will also benefit from access to personnel and technological expertise from GCHQ, which is the government’s signals intelligence service, to help them ‘outpace’ current and emerging threats.

Minister of State for Digital and Culture Matt Hancock said that the plans, which form a part of the government’s £1.9bn National Cyber Security Programme, show that Whitehall is committed to an ‘ambitious’ programme of innovation to stay on top of cyber threats.

He commented: “We are making progress in our ambitious programme to support innovation in cyber security, grow the UK’s thriving sector and protect Britain from cyber attacks and threats. Read More