UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration

UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration

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Infosecurity Europe 2022 stirs national support for UK cyber clusters

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  • UKC3 and associated cyber clusters networked with cyber and tech experts at InfoSec London.
  • The highlight of the event for UKC3 was the workshop on growing companies through regional alliances.
  • Connections made at Infosec can open new avenues for collaboration at local, regional, national, and even international levels.

UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) debuted at Infosecurity Europe 2022 last month. One of Europe’s leading cyber security event of the year gathered cyber and tech companies from the UK and abroad at the ExCel exhibition hall. 

The event provided an ideal opportunity for the cyber sector to understand the benefits of the UK’s cyber cluster network, as well as to find out more about their local cluster. The UKC3 exhibition stand proved to be a popular destination for delegates and other exhibitors with many signing up to join. 

The UKC3 highlight of InfoSec 2022 was the Security Workshop. On 22nd June, the second day of the cyber event, the cluster network  hosted their workshop on “How To Accelerate Your Company’s Growth Through Regional Alliance?”, dedicated to cyber security and technology companies at the show. Suzanne Lowe, Head of the Cyber Sector Team at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) introduced UKC3 to the participants at the workshop, after which, Richard Yorke, Chair of UKC3 briefly presented the organisation and its remit, leading the way into the three sessions of the workshop.

The workshop was structured into three sessions, covering innovation, cyber security skills growth and ecosystem development. Each session was coordinated by board members of UKC3 and associated clusters representatives, who kept the participants actively engaged in discussions related to the main topic of the workshop.

Richard Yorke and Judith Miller (Business Development Manager, CSIT) conducted the session dedicated to cyber skills growth, which attracted great interest from participants. The key ideas voiced during this session were:

  • Cyber clusters have the opportunity to engage with skills programmes like apprenticeships and internships, facilitating students’ experience across different organisations.
  • Preparing students for the cyber workforce needs school support, and clusters can get involved by suggesting free or low-cost cyber training programmes.
  • Larger companies need to get involved in supporting new talent development in the industry.

Ciara Mitchell, Ecosystem Development Lead at UKC3 coordinated the ecosystem development session, and the main findings that came out of this session were:

  • The need to develop a clear and smooth process for disseminating information from key national cyber organisations to cyber clusters that can then cascade the information further to their network or members.
  • The need to identify priorities for cyber clusters to support each other through know-how and expertise.
  • The need to provide further opportunities for in-person meetings for the cyber clusters.

Leading the innovation session, Linda Smith, Innovation Lead at UKC3, identified the following main findings:

  • UKC3 should create an innovation capability matrix for all clusters to reference and use collaboration opportunities, particularly regional innovation assets that could work more effectively with cluster networks. 
  • There has also been identified the option to create a Cyber Cluster – Digital Security Supply Chain for new R&D into regional, national and international networks. 
  • Greater awareness on innovation funds either via Innovate UK or Digital Catapult  that Clusters could be provided with as a centrally offered resource.

Infosecurity Europe 2022 also marked the launch of the newest cyber security cluster recognised by UKC3, Surrey Cyber Security Cluster, supported by University of London (Royal Holloway), University of Surrey, Surrey County Council and local cyber companies.

Commenting about InfoSec 2022, UKC3 Chair Richard Yorke said:

“We noticed a great interest in UKC3 coming from local, regional or national cyber or tech companies in the UK, and this confirms that there is a significant need for companies of all sizes to get in touch and become members of their regional cyber clusters. Furthermore, we were positively surprised to learn that international companies were interested in what we do and exploring further collaboration opportunities, that we’re open to. ”

For more information about UKC3 visit our website, LinkedIn or Twitter profiles.

 

UKC3 Takes the Stand at InfoSec 2022 with 13th Cluster Launch

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  • Sue Lowe, DCMS to talk about the importance of clusters in driving growth during workshop InfoSec 2022 UKC3’s debut attendance at stand R45

DCMS-backed, UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) debuts at InfoSec 2022 with the launch of its 13th cluster in the space of a year. The new Surrey Cyber Security Cluster (SCSC) is the latest in a series of recognised cyber clusters across the regions and nations of the UK, established to directly support regional, joined up growth for the cyber sector. InfoSec 2022 also provides the opportunity for all cyber businesses to find out how they can expedite growth through cluster participation with the popular Security Workshop, ‘How to Accelerate Your Company’s Growth Through Regional Alliance’ on Wednesday 22nd June 12.00 pm.

The Surrey cluster recognition comes off the launch of Cyber East, North West Cyber Cluster and the Swindon & Wiltshire Cyber Cluster in recent months. SCSC, supported by University of London (Royal Holloway), University of Surrey, Surrey County Council and local cyber companies, is developing an active cyber security ecosystem for Surrey which already has a rich background in cyber. This includes Royal Holloway’s status as one of the founder institutions of the International Cyber Security Centre of Excellence and the University of Surrey’s Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research. The county also hosts major industry names in cyber security such as BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, Cap Gemini, F5, CGI, Cisco, and VMWare as well as businesses with inward cyber security teams like Samsung, EA, and BP. 

A central feature for InfoSec’s popular Security Workshops is UKC3’s Wednesday session on how regional involvement can boost business’ performance through participation in ecosystem development, innovation and skills growth initiatives. The workshop kicks off with an introduction  from Suzanne Lowe on the role of cyber clusters in driving regional growth . Participants will then have the opportunity to get fully involved in discussions across all of the three key work streams that are at the heart of UKC3’s mission: 

  1. Skills and talent (what’s being done to upskill, what talent is needed, how to harness)
  2. Ecosystem development (how co-opetition works, the importance of connections and collaboration, cross sector engagement)
  3. innovation (the conditions for innovation and high growth startups, how you can contribute)

Commenting on their first time attendance at InfoSec, Chair UKC3, Richard Yorke said:

“How else could we celebrate our inaugural presence at InfoSec than with the announcement of another cluster recognition.. This is absolute testament to the demand for cluster activity across the UK’s cyber ecosystem as the sector continues to grow. We are keen for all UK businesses with an interest in cyber (both supply and demand side),  to become part of the UKC3 network of clusters. That is precisely why InfoSec is a critical event for us and for all visitors and exhibitors to find out more about how clusters can help them develop. Hence our workshop being accessible to all, with open dialogue at its heart. Come and meet us at our stand to chat more.”

Mark Pearson, Chair, SCSC, added:

“Our vision is for Surrey to be recognised as a region of excellence for cyber technology and innovation in the UK and internationally.  We aim to be an enabler organisation that works with partners to create the ideal conditions for the growth of cyber technology and innovation in Surrey by facilitating connection, capacity building and collaboration. UKC3 provides us with the structure to deliver and build on this, through connecting with other clusters, sharing expertise and growing the UK cyber capabilities. InfoSec is our first major event and being featured there shows how important clusters are to our cyber economy.”

To find your local cyber cluster, click here.

New Swindon & Wiltshire Cyber Cluster opens doors to cyber collaboration, growth and innovation

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  • Swindon &  Wiltshire Cyber Cluster (SWCC) launched on 24 May at the Business Cyber Centre in Chippenham.
  • SWCC announced future plans through 2022/2023, including the CyberICE Conference for the Future at the end of June.
  • SWCC is formally recognised by UKC3 and through its events and programmes, supports its three pillars: innovation, cyber skills growth and ecosystem development.

Swindon & Wiltshire Cyber Cluster launchLast month saw the launch of UKC3’s recognised cluster, Swindon & Wiltshire Cyber Cluster. To mark the occasion, the cluster held their first event, “Helping shape the environment of cyber security”, welcoming 25 cyber-led businesses from across the region, with an impressive line-up of speakers to celebrate the occasion. 

The event was held at the newly opened UK’s first Business Cyber Centre (BCC) in Chippenham with guests participating in an exciting agenda covering the current state of cyber in the region, through key topics like operational resilience, strengthening the UK cyber, or SWCC’s role in bringing more innovation and collaboration through cyber security. 

Brea Woods, Project Manager at SWCC said “I am delighted that the launch event for the Swindon & Wiltshire Cyber Cluster (SWCC) was such a success. We had wonderful speakers – Tom Marshall, Operations Manager at the Business Cyber Centre; Lauren Metalle from the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport and Alan Hill from Splunk – all leading on conversations around the key topic of Helping shape the environment of cyber security’.

It is a great time for the SWCC to help propel the creation of the best ecosystem for our local industries whilst dealing with society’s cyber challenges.  Through collaboration, partnership opportunities, and networking, we aim for ideas and best practices to be shared and developed.  This will provide our cyber security businesses the opportunities to find new ways to thrive and drive innovation across Swindon and Wiltshire whilst also supporting non-cyber businesses in the region.”

Cyber ICE event qr codeSWCC announced their future plans, which included the CyberICE Conference for the Future: Innovate, Collaborate, Educate, which will take place on 30 June. This event is dedicated to SMEs from all sectors and it is an opportunity for Swindon & Wiltshire Cyber Cluster to highlight their drive, strategy, mission, and collaboration plans.

Expert speakers from across the UK will present in person and via the state-of-the-art technology available at the Business Cyber Centre. Speakers for the conference include:

  •       Simon Hepburn, Chief Executive Officer of UK Cyber Security Council – will discuss their latest initiatives
  •       James Stanley, Head of Sectoral Engagement Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) – will discuss The National Cyber Strategy and supporting local ecosystems.
  •       Dominic Simonis – Law and Mike Madden, Defence and Security Accelerator Liaison, Ministry of Defence – will talk about how to get innovative ideas into defence and defence digital.
  •       Richard Yorke, Chair of the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) – will talk about the role of UKC3, collaboration across all the clusters and future events.
  •       Professor Kamal Bechkoum and Laura Whitmore from The University of Gloucestershire, Cyber skills bootcamps – will be delving into their next wave of bootcamps being launched in October for the following skills: Cyber Analysts, Software Engineers, Data Analysts.
  •       Katie Stebbins, President of Global EPIC will talk about the International Cluster and the wider cyber community.
  •       Kerrianne Gould, Community Manager, Bristol and Bath Cyber Cluster – will be focussing on Cyber First and how clusters are supporting across their regions.

This event will be open to people outside of the Swindon and Wiltshire area so the cluster can showcase how they are supporting the region. Businesses can register here to secure their place. 

Regarding SWCC’s role in developing the UK cyber sector, Brea added: “The cluster will also support both the UK Government’s Cyber Security Strategy and Swindon & Wiltshire’s Local Industrial Strategy by building cyber security knowledge, skills, infrastructure, and capabilities to make all local businesses more resilient to cyber-attacks through minimising risks.”

Swindon &  Wiltshire Cyber Cluster is a UKC3-recognised cyber cluster that is contributing to growing the UK cyber sector across the three main pillars that UKC3 supports: innovation, cyber skills growth and ecosystem development. Through activities such as CyberICE and others to come, SWCC is disseminating UKC3’s cyber strategy across their region, and finding new collaboration avenues to support its goals. To find out more or to join, please head here.

UKC3 Celebrates Successful Inaugural Year

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  • UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) recently celebrated its first 12 months of operations.
  • UKC3’s mission is to support growth of the UK’s cyber sector by enabling cyber clusters to collaborate and deliver activity across key areas: ecosystem development, innovation and skills growth.
  • UKC3 Cyber Clusters boosted by nearly £2 million investment, over 2 years, from DCMS strengthening regional cyber ecosystems.
  • Since it was launched, UKC3 has accomplished several achievements: supporting the launch of the National Cyber Strategy 2022, creation of new clusters, development of skills, talent and job opportunities and connecting the industry.

Backed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) has celebrated its first anniversary following the launch in May 2021. In the past 12 months, the organisation has seen the development and recognition of 12 cyber clusters across the UK, all focused on driving regional growth of the cyber ecosystem and the businesses within it.

During the last year, the number of UKC3 recognised clusters grew from seven to twelve across UK regions and nations with a further two expected to come on board in the next six months. These local clusters play a vital role in supporting local cyber businesses and connecting the UK cyber sector into a thriving ecosystem. As part of their strategy, the organisation is supporting cyber skills growth initiatives such as regional Cyber First Schools pilots, apprenticeship schemes and various direct-to-student/college projects. In addition, a number of clusters are actively involved in Cyber Runway, a programme for cyber innovation.

Over the last 12 months, UKC3, a Community Interest Company, has secured nearly £2million of investment from DCMS to fund cluster activities from May 2021 over a 24 month period, as the UK Government continues to support the growth of the UK cyber sector.  As part of this, UKC3 is playing a central role in the Government’s National Cyber Strategy 2022 to deliver on growth and strengthening the UK cyber Ecosystem.

Security minister, Minister Lopez said:

“Supporting our thriving cyber sector and its talented professionals is vital to ensuring we remain a global tech power. Our investment in UKC3’s ambitious cyber programme is boosting skills and supporting businesses to develop cutting-edge tools which can keep people safe and secure online.”

Commenting on the first year of operations, UKC3 Chair, Richard Yorke, said:

“Cyber continues to be one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK economy with the talent and capability in our regions and nations playing a pivotal role. It’s been an exciting first year; we’ve created the right foundations and are now building from them. I’m delighted with how we are working with cyber clusters across the country to support and develop their local ecosystems and put in place the conditions in which cyber start-ups and SMEs can flourish in a particularly dynamic, fast-moving industry. All businesses involved with the cyber sector can benefit from being part of their local cluster, individually and as part of the collaborative effort. It’s a good place to be.”

UKC3 will be at the industry’s leading event, InfoSec 21st-23rd June, where they will be holding a workshop for people working in the cyber sector to see how their local cluster can support them. To find your local cyber cluster, click here.

UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) to join international cyber security leaders at CYBERUK 2022

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  • This year, UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) will participate at CYBERUK to share knowledge and expertise about cyber clusters’ role in driving growth in the cyber sector across the UK.
  • Richard Yorke, Chair of UKC3, and Ciara Mitchell, Ecosystem Development Lead at UKC3, will deliver insights into how clusters are helping businesses to improve technical skills and work with a wide range of organisations to improve cyber skills.
  • UKC3’s team will be present on the Exhibiting floor to interact with industry leaders and engage in new collaboration avenues.

One year since its launch, UKC3 has announced its participation in the UK Government’s CYBERUK 2022 taking place 10-11 May at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Newport, Wales. Backed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and supported by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), UKC3 will represent cyber clusters in the UK, and their contribution to growing the cyber sector in their respective nations and regions.

Two of UKC3’s board will be in the spotlight at CYBERUK 2022. Ciara Mitchell, Ecosystem Development Lead at UKC3, will open the first day of CYBERUK 2022 at 8am, with a get together session, “Women in Cyber Networking”, in partnership with Women in Cyber Wales, led by Clare Johnson. The session is dedicated to women working in or hoping to work in the cyber security industry, and it will benefit from Ciara and Clare’s expertise in the cyber networking space.

Richard Yorke, Chair of UKC3Richard Yorke, Chair of UKC3, will be part of an exciting panel on Tuesday, 10 May: “Stream B: Creating a big bang – When government, education and industry collide”. The panel also includes the Deputy Director for Cyber Growth at NCSC, Chris Ensor, the CEO of IASME, Emma Philpott, the Managing Director of TryHackMe, Ben Spring, Cardiff University Professor of Data Science and Cybersecurity, Pete Burnap, and a senior representative from Naq Cyber.

Speaking about the importance of UKC3 to join this international cyber event, Richard Yorke said:
“Having the possibility to network with international leaders in the cyber security scene so close to home is a privilege. I believe this event is significant for knowledge exchange with other global cyber security actors, and cyber clusters, as well as businesses and individuals will greatly benefit from the sessions at this event.

I’m delighted to be part of the panel on ‘Creating a big bang – When government, education, and industry collide’ sharing the scene with members of NCSC, Cardiff University, and leading cyber security firms in the UK.”

UKC3 team will be available for further networking and informal discussions on the Exhibition Floor, at stand A18, where members of its formally recognised cyber clusters will also interact with the broader CYBERUK 2022 participants, sharing experience and best practices for driving innovation, skills growth and ecosystem development in the cyber sector.

About UKC3

The UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration exists to support Cyber Clusters in their mission to drive economic growth in the sector. We do this through funding and by enabling opportunities for networking, knowledge exchange, sharing of best practice, and identification of opportunities for regional and ultimately national growth.

As a national body, the UKC3 works across public, private sectors, and academia and provides a single entity for organisations wishing to engage with the UK Cyber Cluster community. There are currently 12 cyber clusters across the UK working on developing the cyber sector across three key areas: skills, innovation and ecosystem development.

A short review on UKC3 – the DCMS-backed organisation that supports cyber cluster collaboration in the UK

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Everybody wants to know what the future holds. Those who are a step ahead of the rest can foresee challenges and avoid falling into pitfalls, or they can spot opportunities and ride to success. This is as true in the cyber security landscape as it is in any other. Over the past few years, organisations across the globe have come to understand just how pervasive cyber threats are and cyber security companies need to form a collaboration network to strengthen their cyber shields. Understanding the future needs of the cyber ecosystem, UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration (UKC3) was launched to encourage greater collaboration across regions and nations of the UK.

Richard Yorke Chair of UKC3In the past 12 months, having recognised clusters in 12 regions and nations, a further two emerging clusters that are expected to be formally recognised in the next six months, UKC3 has achieved one of its key objectives to support local cyber businesses, connect the UK’s cyber sector and fuel growth in the sector.

The funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has been pivotal to this success. It’s also provided the ability to harness growth opportunities for the clusters and amplify the impact they are having. Although the UKC3 is just a year old, they have achieved a number of important outcomes in a short time.

Richard Yorke, the Chairman of UKC3, explains everything we need to know about UKC3 and the organisation’s vision and its alignment with the National Cyber Strategy.

 

Enhancing engagement of UK Cyber Cluster community

In a nutshell the role of UKC3 is to drive regional sector growth through Cyber Clusters. “We exist to support Cyber Clusters in their mission to drive economic growth in the sector. We do this through funding and by enabling opportunities for networking, knowledge exchange, sharing of best practice, and identification of opportunities for regional and ultimately national growth.” Richard commented.

As a national body, the UKC3 works across public, private sectors, and academia and provides a single entity for organisations wishing to engage with the UK Cyber Cluster community. Founded in May 2021, UKC3 is a Not for Profit, Community Interest Company by a number of cyber cluster leads from various regions and nations in the UK. The notion of a national body for UK cyber clusters came about as a result of a collaboration project between 11 cyber cluster leads and DCMS who shared a common interest in driving regional cyber sector growth and recognising the vital role that cyber clusters play.

Speaking about how UKC3 engages with clusters, Richard said “We hold monthly meetings with all cluster leads, including new and emerging clusters, at which we share information and invite guest speakers to brief on key initiatives and programmes of work in the sector.

We have three working groups covering Skills, Ecosystem Development and Innovation which bring together cluster leads with an active interest in these topics to share knowledge and experiences of related activities in their region as well as identifying opportunities for clusters to collaborate.”

Investing back into clusters by funding their projects

UK Cyber Clusters MapHaving earmarked a proportion of DCMS funding into a project fund, UKC3 focused on financing cluster projects that aim to deliver outcomes relating to these three themes:

  • Ecosystem Development: activities and initiatives that broaden and strengthen regional cyber ecosystems.
  • Innovation: activities and initiatives that support innovation and provide the conditions for high growth cyber start-ups.
  • Cyber Skill Growth: activities and initiatives focused on addressing the cyber skills gap.

To be able to get projects funded, cyber clusters need to demonstrate and meet certain criteria, in order to be recognised by the UKC3. “Working with cyber cluster leads from across the UK, we developed an agreed Operating Framework for Cyber Clusters. As part of becoming formally recognised and funded by UKC3, a Cyber Cluster must operate in line with the framework.

The framework comprises a common set of principles, objectives and outcomes that provide a clear definition of a Cluster’s remit and objectives, enabling stakeholders to better understand and support the work that Clusters do in developing and growing their local cyber ecosystem.” Richard added.

Nurturing innovation to approach Ecosystem Development

A large part of our Ecosystem Development stream is focused on cross sector engagement. With increasing digitisation, all sectors are becoming more reliant on strong cyber expertise and capability in order to innovate and operate securely.

Critical National Infrastructure sectors are a high priority (Telecoms, Finance, Healthcare, Energy, Transport etc.) as those sectors are adopting leading edge technology (AI, Quantum Computing etc.). However, UKC3 encourages cyber clusters to form strong links and partnerships with the industrial sectors that are most prevalent in their regions.

Working closely with key regional industries to identify opportunities for cross sector innovation is a way to approach Ecosystem Development. Clusters with strong links to regional Universities can promote and identify commercial opportunities linked to the world-leading cyber research that is happening across the length and breadth of the UK.

In a number of regions, cyber clusters, supported by UKC3, are working with partners on the development of Cyber Innovation Centres and accelerators programmes with the cluster playing the crucial role of convening, building and nurturing the all important ecosystem and community around this.

Addressing skills gap to achieve cluster objectives

“The skills gap is a major issue for the cyber industry as is the need for greater diversity and we very much see clusters, with their strong regional presence as being a driving force in addressing this.” Richard commented.

There are a number of cluster projects which the UKC3 have funded that bring regionally based cyber industry partners into the local education scene to help inspire the next generation of cyber professionals. UKC3 is also forming links with the UK Cyber Security Council (the voice for the profession) and other national stakeholders such as NCSC’s Cyber First and Cyber Explorers to ensure a joined up approach to skills development.

By addressing this, UKC3 has thrived in a short period of time. Richard said “I am proud to say that UKC3 has achieved formation and governance of the organisation, supported and funded cyber clusters across the UK and also established relationships with key national players in the cyber sector including the UK Cyber Security Council, TechUK, National Cyber Resilience Centre, NCSC, DCMS and DIT.”

UKC3’s vision to align with the National Cyber Strategy

With UKC3 and the clusters’ core mission of driving regional growth of the cyber sector, the challenges UKC3 is focusing on very much echo the pillars outlined in the National Cyber Strategy.

Richard commented “Under each of these we believe the clusters will play a vital role:

Pillar 1. Strengthening the UK’s Cyber Ecosystem

  • Identifying opportunities to drive growth of regionally based cyber companies
  • Driving Cyber Skills Growth and diversity initiatives within each region and nation
  • Building a dynamic cyber cluster network based on collaboration, openness and mutual support

Pillar 2. Building a resilient and prosperous digital UK

  • Enable clusters to support the growth of regionally based cyber security companies
  • Work with Cyber Resilience Centre (CRC) leadership to develop a CRC delivery model that leverages and creates opportunities for the regional cyber economy

Pillar 3. Taking the lead in the technologies vital to cyber power

  • Support growth of innovative start-ups
  • Identify opportunities for collaboration between cluster regions/nations
  • Knowledge Exchange on the development of key technologies
  • Establish and build on links to Academia

Pillar 4. Advancing UK global leadership and influence for a secure and prosperous international order

  • Establish international connections and partnerships
  • Support clusters and their members to develop export and FDI opportunities”

Cyber security is a rapidly growing sector and a key enabler of technological advancement, supporting economic growth and protecting UK plc. UKC3 has been launched to support Cyber Clusters and encourage greater cyber security collaboration across regions and nations of the UK.

To learn more about UKC3 and to update events across UKC3 clusters network or UK cyber security sector, visit here.

 

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