PwC gives evidence on cyber security to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy

Richard Horne, cyber security partner at PwC, gave oral evidence yesterday to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy as part of their ongoing inquiry into UK cyber security. Some of his key points made to the Committee are outlined below:

 

"As our physical world becomes increasingly dependent on the digital world, so cyber vulnerability continues to increase. We can't afford for the UK to be on the back foot with addressing cyber security, and it should be a policy imperative to build a secure society today to protect our future.

 

"Since the first cyber security strategy was outlined in 2011, it's become clearer that government involvement needs to increase to ensure all parts of the UK economy are taking this threat seriously. We've seen positive steps in the most recent cyber strategy to address this and engage with the private sector, with the introduction of the National Cyber Security Centre for example.

 

"It's a fine line to tread though, as too much legislation could lead to organisations merely viewing cyber security as a compliance tick-box exercise rather than taking the time to truly assess their risk. For now, the UK government should be demanding in terms of what it expects from UK business around preparedness for cyber security incidents. There are various policy tools that could be used, such as regulation or code of conducts, without the need for necessarily passing legislation."

 

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Notes to Editors: 

• To speak to Richard about any of the topics he addressed with the Committee yesterday, please contact Felicity Main: [email protected] / 07841 467 421

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