Cybercrime now costs the UK economy an estimated £27bn each year. In recent months, major national and regional institutions including the NHS, the British Library, and the Jobcentre Plus, as well as local councils and Transport for London, have all been subjected to cyberattacks.
These incidents cause huge disruption for organisations and the people who rely on them. It has meant delays to more than 1,000 operations in London hospitals this year alone, the release of patients’ clinical data in Dumfries and Galloway, and residents of temporary housing in Salford being unable to find permanent homes.
In short, this is a widespread, diverse, and expensive problem.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles from London, a new force is emerging.
The establishment of the National Cyber Force (NCF) in Lancashire puts the region at the forefront of a revolution in the way we stay safe online. The cyber ecosystem in the north-west is expected to need 30,000 highly skilled core cyber jobs and will see a quadrupling of the sector’s economic output to £2.8bn.
Lancashire is therefore set to be at the heart of keeping the country safe as well as providing an unparalleled engine of economic prosperity. And Lancaster University is working front and centre to build the capacity needed to tackle the challenge head on, drawing on a distinguished track record of cybersecurity teaching and research in the fight against cybercrime.
Lancaster University has invested £19m into the growth of this complex discipline, and now boasts around 55 cyber-focused academics developing cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, expanding educational facilities and collaborating with businesses and policy partners. This investment enhances the university’s long-standing pedigree as one of a handful of higher education institutions in the UK recognised for both our excellence in research and education by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – the UK government’s lead cybersecurity agency.
This is helping the region and country to stay one step ahead and develop creative approaches to nurture talent across the cyber-skills pipeline. The university has built on its educational pedigree of an NCSC certified master’s degree in cybersecurity with the introduction of a new BSc in cybersecurity and a UK first cyber-executive MBA programme. Our BSc programme helps to nurture the next generation of technical talent, while our cyber-executive MBA is developing the cyber leaders of the future.
The government has pledged, through its “Opportunity Mission” to provide pathways to good prospects for all by 2035. Cybersecurity is the ideal sector for this kind of investment, requiring high skills, providing stability, and providing equitable access to opportunity, which all creates enduring, positive impact across the country.
Lancashire and Cumbria are witnessing first-hand the positive impact that investment in cyber skills and training has, which can be replicated elsewhere, and Lancaster University can serve as a model for cyber investment.
We are developing unique school programmes, such as our School Cyber Entrepreneurship Course, to ensure the future cyber workforce is more diverse. We have also established a strategic partnership with IN4 Group, the NCSC partner for Cyber First (an outreach and education programme run by the NCSC) activity in the north-west. This partnership allows us to support the recognition of regional Cyber First schools and provide educational programmes to young people across the region.
The economic opportunity here is also substantial. We have programmes of business engagement to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) develop cyber innovation strategies and commercialise cybersecurity research – all of which helps boost the regional economy.
Our facilities are second to none in the UK and extend beyond our Lancaster campus. Two years ago, we partnered with Barclays Eagle Labs, Plexal and the University of Manchester to launch the Digital Security Hub (DiSH) in Manchester. The DiSH is a unique facility bringing together government, business and academia to create a thriving Greater Manchester cyber ecosystem. More recently, Lancaster University has created four new cutting-edge computer science teaching labs and a unique resource in the form of a “Decision Theatre”. This will support teaching and research with large-scale data sets at high resolutions, and can be used to benefit businesses.
The combination of our new and existing facilities as part of our Data Cyber Quarter project creates a unique collaboration environment for participants to work on and solve the cyber problems of the future.
We have been on quite a journey over the past two decades, and Lancaster University has established itself as a UK leader for cybersecurity education, research and engagement that keeps everyone safe and secure in these uncertain times.
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