Government is right to prioritise and invest more in cyber security as our economy and society fundamentally relies on digital services and as threats continue to evolve.
The Internet industry has always been at the forefront of cyber security and our recent membership survey findings show that members are investing more in cyber security as they face regular attacks and members provide a variety of tools and services to help protect their customers.
We are pleased the updated National Cyber Security Strategy looks at the breadth of the cyber security environment but it is important that more basic steps are taken, for instance better training of law enforcement and a focus on prosecution rates to create a more hostile environment for cyber criminals.
As Government commits to a more interventionist approach to cyber security, including measures to block malware attacks through a Government DNS filter, ISPA will be working with its members to fully understand the implications of a more proactive technical approach so that concerns around the impact on existing infrastructure and services, privacy and potential scope creep are fully worked through across industry.
Responding to the new strategy, ISPA Chair James Blessing said: “ISPs are investing heavily in their cyber security and ISPA fully supports making the Internet a more secure place. Now that the strategy has been published and confirms a move to a more interventionist approach, we look forward to working with members and Government as to what this means for the UK Internet industry. ISPA believes that a partnership approach is required to most effectively address cyber security, with law enforcement, internet companies, individual users, ISPs and businesses working to protect networks, follow good cyber hygiene, mitigate threats and bring offenders to justice.”
ISPA surveyed members on how they handle cyber-threats and their views on how Government should manage cyber-security policy. The key findings and recommendations are here and the full report can be read here.