The Biden-Harris Administration has released its National Cybersecurity Strategy to “secure the full benefits of a safe and secure digital ecosystem”, something which will require fundamental shifts in how the country “allocates roles, responsibilities, and resources in cyberspace.”
Although a US strategy, with cybersecurity such a global issue and many companies in the sector being headquartered in the US, the announcement is bound to have an impact on the UK market as well.
As such it is useful to look at how the US strategy compares to the one the UK introduced last year, which focuses are setting the direction of the market, as well as what opportunities this could open up for cybersecurity vendors.
UK vs. US – are we on the same page?
With the UK Government releasing its National Cyber Strategy last year, we’d be remiss not to compare how it stacks up to the one released for the US. At a high level, both extensively cover a need for resilience; talk about cybersecurity being for everyone; and list international partners as playing a key role. There’s also a real push around critical infrastructure and the need to further adapt to a digital-first world.
Critical infrastructure
No matter where you are in the world, protecting critical infrastructure on both the cyber and physical front is, well, critical.
Both the United States and the UK have seen cyber attacks across an array of industries, from hospitals and schools, to energy supplies and businesses, in recent years, making it evident that adversaries have no boundaries and showing the devastating impact techniques such as ransomware and supply chain attacks can have.
As such, it’s no surprise that not only have both the US and UK referred to Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) in their strategies, with the US listing it as its first of five pillars, but we’ve also seen companies focused on industrial cybersecurity coming to the fore recently as the lines between physical and digital become more blurred.
Driving resilience in a digital ecosystem
“Resilience” has been a word that’s become evermore popular in the cybersecurity sector so it’s no surprise to see governments referring to it as a key goal within their strategies.
Both the UK and US strategies talk at length about a need for resiliency in the “digital ecosystem” or “digital world”. Across the globe, we’ve seen real acceleration to digitisation with businesses embracing the cloud, remote or hybrid working, and all of us relying on technology for both our professional and personal lives more than ever before.
With technologies such as AI and, more recently, quantum, only continuing to grow in use cases and popularity, governments, businesses and individuals will need to continue to adapt and innovate to keep up with both the possibilities the technology provides, but also the threats that go with it.
Partnerships and collaboration
The UK’s National Cyber Strategy states, “the transnational nature of cyberspace means these challenges cannot be addressed without international collaboration.” In a similar vein, the US lists “leveraging international coalitions and partnerships among like-minded nations” as part of the fifth pillar of its strategy.
While international partnerships will be a vital part of any nation’s strategy in the fight against cybercrime, ensuring collaboration closer to home will also be invaluable.
For example, last year the NCSC issued fresh guidance to help organisations assess the cybersecurity of their suppliers and any other third parties following “a significant increase in cyber-attacks resulting from vulnerabilities within supply chains in recent years, including some high-profile incidents such as the SolarWinds attack.”
Collaboration within businesses, supply chains, and between nations will only continue to grow in importance.
Opportunity
Although we’re only scratching the surface when it comes to the latest cybersecurity strategies here, it’s clear that the opportunity for the sector is huge.
With the industry working to help the move to digital transformation and cloud migration, as well as a shift in working caused by the pandemic, the industry saw a huge uptick in funding in 2021, surpassing $20billion in venture capital.
Although the last year has seen a lower value in funding and the tech sector as a whole has been challenged with staff reduction, both the US and UK national cyber strategies demonstrate just how vital the industry is and solidify its long term need and value.
With each cybersecurity offering or solution having a number of vendors attached to it, the trick for many will be standing out from the crowd and positioning them as the partner of choice for their audience. This is where a strategic PR strategy may be useful. Having the best solution in the market is one thing but, if your target customers don’t know who you are, it’s likely your competition will already be one step ahead of you.
If you’re a cybersecurity vendor looking to grow your brand awareness and media presence in the UK and stand out from your competition, reach out to our specialist Tech Department today.