UKC3 will use the fund to provide networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities, help develop skills and innovation, further collaboration on security issues., and eliminate barriers to effective growth.

Announcing the new fund at industry event InfoSec, digital minister Matt Warman said: “Our cybersecurity sector is already worth £8.9bn, and we’re working tirelessly to take its magnificent growth to the next level.

“Our new UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration will help tackle the barriers to growth, boost people’s digital skills and give firms a new route to develop their business acumen.”

UKC3 chair Richard Yorke added: “The UK’s thriving cyber sector is recognized as world leading and through greater collaboration, innovation and skills development we have a real opportunity to deliver growth that benefits businesses and individual citizens across the UK.

“This is an exciting and pivotal time for the cyber industry, and we encourage organisations to engage with us to drive growth in the sector,” he said.

Don MacIntyre, interim CEO for the UK Cybersecurity Council, which was established by the government to develop the cybersecurity profession, welcomed the funding package.

“Ultimately, all initiatives to close the skills gap and grow the sector need to have an impact at practitioner-level and cyber firm-level to become ‘real’; local cluster collaborations are an ideal approach to doing this,” he said.

“The Council fully supports initiatives like the UKC3 which create an open, inclusive and professional cybersecurity culture.”

Earlier today (13 July), the UK Cybersecurity Council called for organisations to recommit to effective security training, saying that many organisations had dropped the ball somewhat during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.