UK launches Cyber Growth Action Plan to 'supercharge' £13.2bn security sector
Government announces £16m in fresh funding for innovation and startups
The UK government has launched a new Cyber Growth Action Plan aimed at "supercharging" the nation's cyber security sector, a rapidly growing industry that now generates £13.2 billion in annual revenues and supports more than 67,000 jobs across the country.
Unveiled this week, the action plan sets out a comprehensive roadmap to drive innovation, bolster public-private collaboration and future-proof the UK's position as a global leader in cyber security.
The government hopes this initiative will pave the way for enhanced digital resilience while capturing growth opportunities in emerging technologies such as AI and quantum cryptography.
According to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the sector has seen strong year-on-year growth, with a 12% increase in revenues and an 11% rise in employment compared to the previous year.
An additional 74 cyber firms were established, taking the total to 2,165 companies – up 3.5% from last year.
Speaking on the launch, cyber security minister Feryal Clark said: "Cyber security is essential to our economic strength and national resilience. Today's announcement is backed by investment showing we're serious about making the UK a global leader in cyber innovation and protection."
"Through our Plan for Change, we're backing the sector to create high-quality jobs through the Cyber Growth Action Plan and ensuring our public services are built on secure foundations with the expert support of the Government Cyber Advisory Board."
At the heart of the new plan is an expert-led review of the UK's cyber industry, to be spearheaded by the University of Bristol and Imperial College London's Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance (CSEP).
Over the coming months, specialists from defence and technology sectors will collaborate to analyse the supply and demand landscape, identify growth opportunities and recommend strategic interventions.
The government expects the outcome — a series of detailed recommendations — to be delivered by late summer, feeding directly into the upcoming National Cyber Strategy.
£16 million in new funding for innovation and startups
In parallel with the strategic review, the government has announced £16 million in fresh funding to catalyse cyber innovation and nurture the next generation of UK security businesses.
£10 million will be channelled into CyberASAP, the government-backed academic accelerator run by UK Research and Innovation and Innovate UK. The funding will support the programme through to 2030, with the ambitious goal of generating 25 new cyber spin-outs and attracting £30 million in private investment.
The remaining £6 million will support the Cyber Runway programme, designed to help UK-based cyber startups and SMEs scale internationally and access new global markets.
To ensure the government's approach remains connected to real-world challenges, a new version of the Cyber Advisory Board (CAB) is also being launched. First formed in 2022, the CAB will now include some of the industry's leading voices from major tech firms and will advise on strengthening cyber resilience across public sector institutions.
The board's primary remit will be to support Westminster in bolstering digital security infrastructure across public services and advising on the secure rollout of digital technologies.
Industry leaders have welcomed the action plan as a timely and necessary move to consolidate gains, secure talent pipelines and keep pace with fast-moving global cyber threats.
Dominic Trott, director of strategy and alliances UK, Orange Cyberdefense, said: "I'm delighted to see further investment from the government into the UK cybersecurity sector. While this kind of funding is long overdue, I'm encouraged by the momentum building behind cyber resilience in the UK."
"The Cyber Growth Action Plan's emphasis on investing in the UK's academic cyber sector to foster the creation of commercial companies represents a hugely welcome investment in grassroots cyber in the UK. Similarly, the additional investment in cyber startups and SMEs to strengthen the UK's wider cyber ecosystem is also tremendously encouraging."
David Shepherd, SVP of EMEA Ivanti, noted: "The government taking a broad, ambitious view of the cyber sector is a promising first step, not just as a security issue, but as a key part of the UK's growth strategy. Investment in startups, spinouts and skills is absolutely the right direction."
"As such, I would love to see the plan explore how to enable more intelligence-sharing between organisations, better connect public and private actors, and fund programmes that break down silos between IT, compliance and executive leadership."
"We also need to look at why adoption of security innovations still lags, whether that's down to talent gaps, lack of incentives or complexity. It's not just about what's available, it's about how we scale it. This is the UK's cyber expertise into real action."