Foreign secretary William Hague has announced the devotion of £500,000 a year to the opening and running of a global cyber research centre to be sited at the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford.
The Global Centre for Cyber Security and Capacity Building will, said Hague, act as a research destination to help the UK and other countries work on solutions to improve protection against cyber attacks, something he stated back in October 2012 was "emerging as a new dimension in conflicts of the future".
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The centre, Hague said yesterday, "will coordinate global work on cyber threats and cyber policies which will help protect the UK's security. We are dedicating £500,000 per year to this centre to be a beacon of expertise and put the UK at the forefront of cyber policy development."
Francis Maude, cabinet minister for cyber security, added the centre should provide "comprehensive national programmes and the policies, cooperation, skills and workforce, technology and expertise to tackle online threats and reduce harm."
The centre is one of several the government has authorised in recent months, in addition to other schemes such as the Cyber Security Challenge competition to attempt recruitment of skilled innovators into the industry.
Is £500,000 a year enough to sustain a useful research centre, and does the UK government even have any choice but to apportion such a low amount with only an "embarrassing" £650m at its disposal? Join the debate by adding your comment below.
