Case Studies

Cyber help for Commonwealth

by Mark Rowe

The UK Government has promised money to help Commonwealth countries on cyber security and help to tackle criminal groups and hostile state actors who pose a global threat to security, including in the UK.

Prime Minister Theresa May announced that on the eve of a formal Heads of Government Meeting where leaders were expected to agree the ‘Commonwealth Cyber Declaration’, the world’s largest and most geographically diverse inter-governmental commitment on cyber security cooperation.

The declaration sets out a common vision for ensuring the internet remains free and open across the Commonwealth. It will commit members to raising national levels of cyber security and increased cooperation to counter those who seek to undermine our values, security, even the integrity of elections.

New £15.5m funding will support Commonwealth partners as they prevent and respond to cyber security risks; £5.5m of this will enable low and middle income Commonwealth members to carry out national cyber security capacity reviews before the next CHOGM in 2020. It will underpin projects across the Commonwealth to provide technical assistance, training and advice to address a wide range of cyber security and cyber crime threats.

Theresa May said: “The future is at the heart of the Commonwealth events being held this week and with that, we must look towards the emerging challenges that we and our Commonwealth partners face. Cyber security affects us all, as online crime does not respect international borders. I have called on Commonwealth leaders to take action and to work collectively to tackle this threat. Our package of funding will enable members to review their cyber security capability, and deliver the stability and resilience that we all need to stay safe online and grow our digital economies.

“The Commonwealth plays a pivotal role in shaping the future for many of its members. We have put security on the agenda for the first time so we can work together and build a safer future both for Britain, and for the 2.4 billion people around the world who live in the Commonwealth.”

The UK’s Digital Secretary Matt Hancock and Singaporean Foreign Minister Dr Balakrishnan have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on cyber security capacity building, in both the Commonwealth and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Comments

Mark Weir, Director of Cybersecurity, Cisco UK and Ireland said that a large enterprise can face as many as 70,000 security events per week. “Cyber threats have reached an unprecedented level where no organisation or country can turn a blind eye. The commitment of £15 million to help Commonwealth countries strengthen their cyber security capabilities is a vital next step in creating a neighbourhood cyber-watch to regain control of the cyber-storm. Ultimately, we are stronger together.

“To help reduce cybercriminals success rates and reduce the impact on businesses and countries, there has to be a greater willingness to share insight, learnings and knowledge. These criminals are getting smarter by the day and growing in sophistication and power. We need to build a collective and collaborative community to ensure we don’t just keep up, but stay one step ahead.”

And Andrew Davidson, Head of Marketing, Enterprise and Cyber Security EMEIA at Fujitsu Global, said: “The new initiative to help Commonwealth countries shore up their cyber security is the right approach to tackling an increasing complex problem. The cyber security threat is evolving with remarkable speed, and malignant actors are constantly finding new ways to harm organisations. Bringing together a variety cyber security experts will enable these countries to tap into diverse capabilities and approaches to defense.

“Moreover, at a time when businesses operate in globalised markets, cyber attackers often seek “back-doors” into organisations, attacking them at their weakest point and using that as a beachhead into the most sensitive data. This means that borders are irrelevant to cyber security. A weakness in New Zealand can be used to get into the British part of a business. While it’s alarming to note that only 10pc of businesses see cybercrime as the biggest threat to their success, it’s great to see the government stepping in with an international approach to cyber security.”

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