By: Nathan Carroll, Product Lead, M247
Whichever party won the 2024 general election was going to face a multitude of challenges. While it may not have received as much attention in the media as border control or the future of the NHS in the run up to the ballot, the need for digital to be seen as pivotal for the UK’s future economic wellbeing was something that all parties had to address.
As the country’s first line of defence against increasingly sophisticated hacking attacks, cybersecurity must be a principal component of a nationwide recognition programme – which also includes relevant cloud adoption and resilient connectivity – that ensures businesses can rely on central government to aid and encourage their growth with meaningful digital policies.
The UK slipped four places to 20th position out of 64 in the World Digital Competitiveness Rankings for 2023. Having been 13th in the same rankings for 2020, this consistent slide is alarming. Each political party needed to make sure that nationwide digital levelling-up was high on their agenda should they have come to power. But why, and what should they have offered?
Joining forces to combat cybercrime
Cyberattacks have never been more of a threat than they are now, but they are perversely not as much of a threat today as they will be next month. Their increase is inexorable, with 560,000 reported per day in the UK as of June 2024.
The recent ransomware attack on NHS systems highlighted how any data is declared fair game by hackers. The compromising of confidential patient information is just one example of when critical national infrastructure (CNI) was breached, to go alongside the hundreds of thousands of instances in the private sector, like the 40,000 records stolen from the England and Wales Cricket Board in March 2024.
This is why the new government must treat cybersecurity as a line of defence on a par with the ‘traditional’ armed forces. Its policy must encompass a risk-based approach, with an emphasis on the risks’ potential impact and likelihood. It should also encourage collaboration between government agencies, the private sector, and international partners. They can share threat intelligence, best practices and lessons learnt and subsequently counter cross-border threats effectively.
The private sector’s role is vital. Companies within it can assess and mitigate risks in their supply chains and make sure their suppliers take a similarly robust approach to keep attacks at bay.
Meanwhile, citizens will also need to play their part. Education programmes about cyber risks, safe online practices and threat awareness need to be promoted nationwide.
This is a never-ending loop. The continually-evolving cybersecurity landscape needs continual research into it and the development of innovative solutions which counter new and sophisticated threats. A coordinated national incident response framework is vital for this defence force, as is guidance for organisations on what to do during an ongoing crisis.
Heads and minds in the cloud
Research from the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) suggests that 78% of UK organisations have adopted at least one cloud-based service. This figure increases to 94% for companies in countries around the world.
This is unsurprising, as cloud adoption drives innovation and operational efficiency as a way of nurturing economic growth. While the USA is still the undoubted leader in cloud adoption, with the market worth USD495.3bn in 2022 and forecast to rise to USD2,495.2bn by 2032, APAC is catching up. The region’s spend in 2023 was USD77.3bn , expected to increase to USD593.7bn by 2032.
The new government needs to make sure the UK is not left behind. Cloud adoption has many advantages over the traditional ‘on-premises’ (on-prem) fixed systems; primarily, its scalability allows users to adapt storage capacity based on increasing or decreasing needs, so they’re only ever paying for what they need.
However, it also boosts cybersecurity. Cloud firewalls block Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, malicious bot activity and exploitation of vulnerabilities. Its lower costs mean that more budget can be allocated to more cutting-edge cybersecurity tools and infrastructure, empowering even the smallest firms.
This makes the ROI of cloud adoption especially tempting. The government needs to make sure that these companies – frequently referred to as the backbone of British industry – understand the advantages of cloud adoption.
Connecting the dots
It’s inconceivable that a first-world country like the UK might still have internet blackspots, but according to Ofcom’s most recent Connected Nations report, three per cent of the country is still unable to access superfast broadband. In 2023, the then-government’s target was for gigabit broadband to be available for 85% of the UK by 2025 – which is on track to be met – and for it to be rolled out nationwide by 2030.
Connectivity issues obviously present commercial problems too, particularly in rural areas. Businesses struggle with slow and unreliable connectivity and also poor mobile signals which prevent cohesive working. In today’s digital-first world, good connectivity is essential and although new technologies and headline-grabbing download speeds offer the promise of premium service, the reality is often quite different.
These problems with connectivity are preventing a full digital transformation for 80% of British businesses. To kick-start economic growth, the government needs to conduct a root-and-branch analysis of the issue and provide reliable, secure and flexible digital tools to help companies thrive digitally. Collaboration with business and commercial leaders will be essential.
Digital infrastructure as a nationwide benefit
The onus will rightly be on the government to drive investment, innovation and policy in the UK’s digital infrastructure. Cybersecurity should be boosted, cloud architecture embraced and the glaring issues around the digital divide addressed. For the UK to thrive under the new government, the digital world needs to be at the front and centre of its policies.