£15m investment will boost cyber security of Commonwealth countries

London’s National Cyber Security Centre welcomed four current prime ministers recently as UK PM Theresa May announced that up to £15 million would be invested into helping Commonwealth countries strengthen their cyber security capabilities over the next three years.

A third of the package (£5.5 million) will be used to enable low and middle-income Commonwealth members to carry out national cyber security capacity reviews before the next biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2020.

GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming hosted three other heads of state for the announcement: Canada’s Justin Trudeau, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern and Malcolm Turnbull from Australia, with all four prime ministers pledging to improve international cyber security during the visit.

NCSC chief executive Ciaran Martin said that his organisation was committed to improving cyber defences throughout the Commonwealth by learning and sharing information about the attacks Britain was facing.

Mrs May added that she has called on Commonwealth leaders to take action and work collectively to tackle cyber threats.

“Cyber security affects us all, as online crime does not respect international borders,” she commented.

“Our package of funding will enable members to review their cyber security capability and deliver the stability and resilience that we all need to stay safe online and grow our digital economies.”