Cyber Security: Massive Growth In Britain’s Cyber Security Sector

Britain is one of the world’s leading digital nations, home to exceptional talent, cutting-edge innovation and rapid growth. The UK’s cyber security area is now worth £8.3bn, according to a new report by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The UK cyber sector revenues are up 46% from £5.7bn in 2017. Confidence in the sector, regardless of the region, is up, with investment exceeding £1.1 billion since 2016. 2019 was also a record-breaking year with cyber security firms receiving £348 million in funding.

The Findings from the Report Show:

The number of active cyber security firms in the UK has increased 44 per cent, up from 846 in 2017 to over 1,200 at year-end 2019. The growth is the equivalent of a new cyber security business being started in the UK every week.
There are now approximately 43,000 full time employees working in the cyber security sector, up 37 per cent from 2017
Total revenues within the sector have increased by 46 per cent to an estimated £8.3 billion. On average, revenue per employee reached £193,500, an increase of 7 per cent since 2017
2019 was a record year for the sector with more than £348 millions of investments
Over the last four years (2016-19), total investment identified within the cyber security sector has exceeded £1.1 billion, demonstrating how confidence has grown in the industry.

This growth has seen a 37% increase in jobs within the sector since 2017, which now employees 43,000 full-time workers.

The “UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020″ named Darktrace one of the most successful UK cyber security companies, which is one of the country’s 77 tech unicorns, a company valued at over $1bn.

Ahead of his speech at international cyber security conference SINET, Digital Minister Matt Warman said: “It’s great to see our cyber security sector going from strength to strength. It plays a vital role in protecting the country’s thriving digital economy and keeping people safe online.

“We are committed to seeing it grow and are investing £1.9bn over five years through our National Cyber Security Strategy to make sure we lead the way in cyber innovation, develop and attract the best talent.”

Darktrace CEO, Poppy Gustafsson, said: “The immense growth of the cyber security industry in recent years reflects the magnitude of the cyber challenge confronting organisations of every kind in modern society.”

The risks are real and it is reassuring to know that the cyber security sector is growing, but there is much companies should be doing in the meantime. To understand your risks better, you might want to discuss questions like these with your cyber security professionals and Boards:

Detection: how long would it take for you to discover hackers in your systems?
Back-ups: how effective are your back-up practices?
Business continuity plans: how would your staff cope with reverting to pen and paper?
Patching: how long does it take for your organisation to apply patches?
Customer communication: what are your plans for communicating to customers in the event of a major breach of customer data?
Supplier management: where you are reliant on the systems of others, how much do you know about their cyber security practices?

This UK Government Report is based on research by Queen’s University Belfast’s Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), with Belfast-based economic and policy advisory practice and the market researchers Ipsos MORI.

CSIT’s Head of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement, David Crozier said: “This research clearly shows that support for cyber security innovation from the Government is having a positive impact in accelerating growth, employment and investment in the sector right across the UK.”

UK Government says it will continue with its efforts to support the UK’s world-leading cyber security sector to remain internationally competitive, to develop innovative and ground-breaking new products and services, to expand and access new markets, and to secure the best talent available to ensure sustainable growth.

The protection of Internet connected systems (to include hardware, software and associated infrastructure), the data on them, and the services they provide, from unauthorized access, harm or misuse. This includes harm caused intentionally by the operator of the system, or accidentally, as a result of failing to follow security procedures or being manipulated into doing so.

Therefore, this sectoral analysis seeks to identify businesses active within the UK that provide products or services that enable the protection of internet connected systems and their users.