UK cybersecurity industrial policy: an analysis of drivers, market failures and interventions

Madeline Carr and Leonie Maria Tanczer

Journal of Cyber Policy, 2018, vol. 3, issue 3, 430-444

Abstract: The United Kingdom (UK) forms the largest internet economy in the G20 and has the stated ambition of being the ‘safest place in the world to live and work online’. Cybersecurity is, thus, regarded as both a challenge as much as an opportunity. Since the publication of UK's first National Cyber Security Strategy (NCSS) in November 2011, the government has implemented many proactive as well as reactive measures to enhance both its cybersecurity capabilities as well as its market power in this space. This article provides an analysis of the shift away from a reliance on market forces that dominated Western approaches to cybersecurity over the recent years. Specifically, it highlights three ‘market failures’ that have prompted UK's industrial policy responses: ongoing data breaches; inadequate private cybersecurity investments; and a continuous digital skills gap. An analysis of these drivers as well as UK government's responses demonstrates that the UK's cybersecurity strategy has evolved from an initial heavy reliance on market forces towards a more state-driven public-private partnership.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1080/23738871.2018.1550523

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