Britain will be able to “strike back” at malicious online attackers under new cyber security plans to be unveiled by Philip Hammond today.
The chancellor will lay out the Government's National Cyber Security Strategy, which will include cash for taking the fight to those who threaten Britain through the web.
The £1.9bn plan seeks to protect the economy, personal privacy and national security, including major infrastructure, against threats from “untrained teenagers” and “foreign states”.
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At a Microsoft conference in London, Hammond will say: “Britain is already an acknowledged global leader in cyber security thanks to our investment of over £860m in the last Parliament, but we must now keep up with the scale and pace of the threats we face.
“Our new strategy, underpinned by £1.9 billion of support over five years and excellent partnerships with industry and academia, will allow us to take even greater steps to defend ourselves in cyberspace and to strike back when we are attacked.”
Among the plans – broken up into three strands "defence, deter and develop" – is a national research institute to tackle the most pressing threats, and a boost for law enforcement to raise the cost of cyber crime.
A new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also started work last month in a bid to provide a one-stop shop for business, government departments and the security services to improve their own defences. It will eventually have a team of around 700 people, and is being led by CEO Ciaran Martin, the former director general for cyber at intelligence agency GCHQ.