Industry Talk

Regular Industry Development Updates, Opinions and Talking Points relating to Manufacturing, the Supply Chain and Logistics.

UK Autumn Budget gives a boost to the tech industry

Sunak’s pledge to invest $3bn into skills and education is a welcome move for the tech industry. While few sectors have been unaffected by the pandemic, the rise in cybercrime over the last 18 months and the impact it’s had on both organisations and individuals has been unprecedented.

It’s become abundantly clear over the past year that cybersecurity is now everyone’s problem – whether they like it or not. Attacks on critical infrastructure have caused disruption to everything from food shortages in the supply chain to the inability to access critical healthcare services, demonstrating that the fallout from data breaches is beginning to have life-threatening consequences. Not to mention the fact that, research from The Cabinet Office itself estimated that cyber-crime is costing the UK economy a staggering £27bn per year.

This investment will help to plug the digital skills gap and in turn, aid in protecting UK organisations and individuals from cyberattacks. Training needs to be made available at both ends of the spectrum, from schools to those already in the workforce. It’s a vital investment, as businesses across the board are rapidly digitally transforming and secure coding needs to play a key role in this.

Organisations need to ensure that they are building more secure systems and safeguarding themselves from cyberattacks and subsequent reputational damage. To achieve this, developers need to be given ownership of their vital role in cybersecurity and ongoing access to relevant training. Not to mention, those at the top need to champion new approaches to security and empower CISOs, CTOs and security executives to breathe new life into security programmes and developer-centric learning.