The UK government has introduced two codes of practice to enhance cyber security in AI and software, boosting UK economy’s security and growth prospects.
The UK government believes that these new measures aimed at developers will establish global standard for protecting AI models from hacking, helping businesses innovate and drive economic growth across the nation
New measures, which the UK government expect to set a global standard on how to bolster protections of AI models from hacking and sabotage, have been unveiled.
During a speech at CYBERUK, the government’s flagship cyber security conference, Technology Minister Saqib Bhatti announced two new codes of practice which will help developers improve cyber security in AI models and software, putting the UK economy on an even stronger footing to grow safely and helping the government achieve long term growth for the British economy.
The codes set out requirements for developers to make their products resilient against tampering, hacking, and sabotage and will boost confidence in the use of AI models across most industries, helping businesses improve efficiencies, drive growth, and turbocharge innovation.
In the last 12 months, half of businesses (50%) and a third of charities (32%) reported cyber breaches or attacks, and phishing remained the most common type of breach.
The codes introduced today show developers how software can be built in a secure way, with the aim of preventing attacks such as the one on the MoveIT software in 2023 which compromised sensitive data in thousands of organisations around the world.
“We have always been clear that to harness the enormous potential of the digital economy, we need to foster a safe environment for it to grow and develop,” Technology Minister Saqib Bhatti said. “This is precisely what we are doing with these new measures, which will help make AI models resilient from the design phase.
“Today’s report shows not only are we making our economy more resilient to attacks, but also bringing prosperity and opportunities to UK citizens up and down the country. It is fantastic to see such robust growth in the industry, helping us cement the UK’s position as a global leader in cyber security as we remain committed to foster the safe and sustainable development of the digital economy.
The new measures come as findings of a new report published today show the cyber security sector has experienced a 13% growth on the previous year and is now worth almost £12 billion, on par with sectors such as the automotive industry.
The findings are reported by the government’s annual Cyber Sectoral Analysis Report and show the number of cyber security firms finding home in the UK has risen in 2023, strengthening the UK’s resilience to attacks and propelling sustainable economic growth.
“To make the most of the technological advances which stand to transform the way we live, cyber security must be at the heart of how we develop digital systems,” NCSC CEO Felicity Oswald added.
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