Aston University: Aston University cyber security experts to work with EY on cyber security ecosystem research to support UK Government strategy

Cyber security experts at Aston University will work with the Government to support its national cyber security strategy by mapping blind spots in the UK’s regional cyber security systems.

The Cyber Security Innovation (CSI) Centre at Aston University will work with EY Cyber Security Consulting on the £180,000 project for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to research and map the UK cyber security ecosystem.

The project will consider the current environment, conditions and interventions that exist to influence or affect companies providing cyber security products, services or solutions to support and contribute to the development and growth of cyber security businesses in the UK.

The aims of this research are to provide the DCMS with robust evidence of a region-by-region picture of where public, private, academic and industry support mechanisms are in place and to identify service and geographical gaps in their provision.

It comes after the CSI Centre helped launch the UK government’s National Cyber Strategy 2022 in Birmingham at a special event last December, for which Aston University professor of cybersecurity management, Vladlena Benson, was an instrumental member of the organising committee.

The current project will enable the strategy implementation to support the UK Government’s ambition to grow innovation and academic research in cyber.

Dr Anitha Chinnaswamy, lecturer in cyber security management at the CSI Centre at Aston Business School, says:

“From the datasets collected that includes different cyber security businesses, incubators, accelerators, clusters, academic centres of excellence and other different mechanisms from across the UK, analysis will be conducted to provide a region-by-region basis of practices involved.

“The mapping of the cyber security landscape will also enable the enhancement of skills and diversity across the cyber security sector.

“The diversity in cyber security market lags other digital sectors, with the cyber workforce consisting of only 15% females, 16% ethnic minority backgrounds and 9% neurodivergent. The results of this project will be an important contribution for the government to foster the growth of a sustainable, innovative, and internationally competitive cyber and information security sector.”