UK Government Partners With Open University to Teach Cybersecurity Defense

The UK government has partnered with the Open University and plans to launch a cybersecurity course that will open up classes for future candidates.  The multi-year program will hopefully develop students interested in technology to focus on security, which will help boost UK defenses from foreign attack.

As western governments try to wrap their heads around growing cyberthreats, there is a shortage of skilled security specialists.  Unfortunately, it has proven to be a difficult and expensive process, while data breaches and cyberattacks continue to be successful.

Here is what Natalie Black, Cabinet Office deputy director of Cyber Defence and Incident Management said:

“A key tenet of the national cybersecurity strategy is developing the cybersecurity skills we need to keep the UK safe and to do that we have to work together, we have to work through industry and academia.  It goes without saying that the government takes cybersecurity incredibly seriously and we’re investing £860m over the course of five years.”

The United States government wants to recruit cybersecurity specialists for the military – but has struggled to find qualified candidates – especially compared to private sector companies willing to open up their checkbooks.  There are similar efforts to partner with universities and private sector companies to help boost education to create future cybersecurity specialists.

Thank you to The Inquirer for providing us with this information

Image courtesy of Wired UK