UK cyber security gets £63m government funding boost

Home Office announces £63m to be spent on tackling cyber crime

The Home Office has pledged to spend £63m on the fight against cyber crime.

The move follows David Cameron's announcement in October that Britain is to spend £650m on a new cyber security programme, as part of sweeping reforms to the UK's defence capabilities.

"This proposed new funding will be used to develop the UK's overall response to cyber crime. The government is determined to build an effective law enforcement response to the cyber crime threat, building upon the existing expertise within SOCA [Serious Organised Crime Agency] and the Met Police Central e-Crime Unit," a government spokesperson said.

"More details of the funding allocation will be made public in due course."

At the time of announcing the new cyber security programme, Cameron said:

"This money will significantly enhance our ability to detect and defend against cyber attacks and fix shortfalls in the critical cyber infrastructure on which the whole country now depends."