More than 110 delegates attended a cyber security event staged to develop cyber trade and research partnerships between the UK and Canada.
The event brought UK-based cyber and managed services businesses together with the Canadian delegation to look at opportunities around technical and commercial Canada-UK partnerships.
UKC3 supported the event by bringing together organisations from its network spanning 18 regional cyber clusters across the UK. The High Commission of Canada hosted a reception and a panel discussion to introduce Canadian businesses to opportunities in the UK.
Organisations including CGI, the Department for Business and Trade, Cypfer and the Cyber Resilience Centre for London discussed the latest cyber security trends in the market. These included the cyber security landscape in the UK, current threats, threat actors, and types of business being impacted.
Recent cyber attacks on UK retailers highlighted the risk to business. Cyber security is often not the top priority for SMEs, but is gaining an increasing level of attention. The gathering learned that the UK has 2,165 cyber businesses, employing 60,000 people, while Canada has 550 cyber businesses employing 23,000. It makes the UK and its businesses an important cyber partner for Canada.
The event was hosted at Canada House – the diplomatic mission on Trafalgar Square in London – and brought 117 attendees together at a reception. More than 50 also attended a briefing panel earlier in the day.
Sanjay Purohit, UK Lead ICT, AI and Digital Industries Trade Commissioner, Government of Canada, said: “It was a pleasure to work in partnership with UKC3 to deliver the Canada-UK Cyber Security Insights Briefing as well as our reception at Canada House.
“To foster International partnerships and perspectives in cyber security technologies, between Canada and the UK will help our nations build more resilient cyber solutions.
“Companies such as Parabellyx, Purilock and Capzul – who joined this mission – found qualifying UK opportunities, meeting new MSSPs and learning more about the UK cyber security market to be valuable.
“We look forward to our ongoing work, follow up and partnership with UKC3.”
Latham French, Senior Economic Officer at Ontario Trade & Investment Office – London, said: “Ontario was proud to lead this delegation of Canadian companies, including 12 Ontario businesses, in exploring the opportunities available in the UK market as they forge new partnerships. This mission highlights Ontario’s global talent in cybersecurity and AI, and our commitment to helping businesses grow through international collaboration.
With strong interest and promising outcomes from both sides, the mission underscored the value of continued Canada-UK cooperation in advancing cyber resilience and digital innovation. As a new partner, UKC3 were instrumental in levelling up opportunities for all participants to make new business connections, we look forward to future collaborations.“
The event was held in partnership between UKC3 and the High Commission of Canada, with guests using the opportunity to build networks and discuss strategic opportunities in areas ranging from hardware to artificial intelligence. They were joined by experts representing organisations ranging from hardware and software testing companies to Canadian regional economic development agencies.
Zain Javed, Cluster Director at North West Cyber Security Cluster and Co-Founder of Citation Cyber, was also among the guests, describing the event as a good opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals from both sides of the Atlantic.
He added: “It was refreshing to hear first-hand from Canadian SMEs about the challenges and opportunities they’re tackling and to share perspectives on how we can collaborate more deeply across the UK and Canada.”
“Events like this help strengthen international links and foster innovation in our sector.”
Simon Newman, Co-Chair of UKC3 and Founder of Cyber London, said: “Events such as this demonstrate the power of the national cluster network in bringing together cyber specialists both nationally and internationally.
“It’s a format we are now looking to replicate with representatives from other nations.
“We are grateful to our partners at the High Commission of Canada for working with us to stage such a productive and enjoyable event.”
UKC3 helps to convene cyber security cluster engagement in national and international events. Find out more here or email info@ukc3.org
