Healthcare, energy suppliers and data centres could see the benefits.
The cyber defences of medical and energy suppliers are to be boosted under the proposed Cyber Security Bill.
Announced today, this move will ensure that around 1,000 service providers of essential IT services will be protected as the government explores additional measures to make sure it can respond effectively to new cyber threats and take rapid action where needed to protect the UK’s national security.
This will include giving the Secretary of State for science, innovation, and technology additional powers to direct regulated organisations to shore up their cyber defences. Also, there may be new protections for more than 200 data centres.
Wes Streeting, health and social care secretary, said: “Cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and create real risks for our health service if we do not act now to put the right protections in place.
“We are building an NHS that is fit for the future. This bill will boost the NHS’s resilience against cyber threats, secure sensitive patient data and make sure life-saving appointments are not missed as we deliver our Plan for Change.”
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
