The government is seeking closer ties with business to battle cyber threat
UK authorities are ramping up efforts to help British business fight the ever-growing threat of cybercrime.
The government will seek greater engagement with chief executives and board level executives on cyber security to push it higher up the corporate agenda.
The newly opened National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in London, part of multi-billion pound government plans to invest in cyber security in the coming years, will hire hundreds more people who will be charged with growing connections with business as part of their remit.
Read more: On Her Majesty’s secret servers: GCHQ taps startups to fight cyber attacks
Currently, talks between the two are largely on an adhoc basis and focus on companies most at risk or which would have the most impact if they were targeted by criminals, said Peter Yapp, deputy director of NCSC speaking at an event held by the Cyber Rescue Alliance.
The move is part of wider government efforts to fight the threat of cyber crime and the government's official national cyber security strategy is due to be published in November, City PM understands.
Cyber security is still not a board level matter, figures reveal, despite the potential for data breaches and hacks to impact a businesses share price, long term reputation and bottom lines.
Read more: UK business doubles security spend as cyber threat grows
The Mayor of London also plans to increase engagement with small businesses across the capital to better equip them with tools to fight online threats.
From January City Hall's Digital Security Centre will double down on efforts to reach businesses with the help of other bodies, including the Met Police and Canada Police.
The government last month took the unprecedented step of connecting cyber security startups with the UK spy agency GCHQ to collaborate on fighting crime.