Imperial and the University of Bristol release independent UK Cyber Growth Action Plan to accelerate the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy.
Researchers from the University of Bristol and Imperial's Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance (CSEP) have today released a UK Cyber Growth Action Plan, an independent report setting out how the UK can strengthen its cyber security sector to fuel both resilience and economic growth.
"Supporting the [cyber security] sector isn't just an economic opportunity, it's essential for our national security and the resilience of businesses." Nigel Steward Director of the Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance
The UK's cyber security sector is on a strong growth trajectory, with jobs rising by 11%, revenue by 12% and Gross Value Added (GVA) by 21%, in the past year alone. In 2023-24, the sector generated £13.2 billion in revenue, contributed £7.8 billion in GVA and employed an estimated 67,300 people in over 2100 companies across a range of products and services. Despite this progress, the report warns that cyber security remains undervalued - leaving significant untapped potential to drive economic growth, strengthen resilience and enhance the UK's global competitiveness.
Drawing on consultations with nearly 100 experts in the cyber community, the UK Cyber Growth Action Plan identifies nine key recommendations and 24 actionable suggestions to build a stronger cyber ecosystem in the UK.
These include:
- Pushing the virtuous cycle of resilience and growth by stimulating informed demand and supporting businesses at all stages of their growth journeys in meeting that demand;
- Making strategic choices about where to focus on technologies and sectors; and
- Simplifying and clarifying the roles of government for cyber growth and resilience.
Cyber security is one of the six priority frontier technologies identified within the Government's Digital And Technologies Sector Plan – part of its Modern Industrial Strategy, published earlier this year. Following their publication, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology tasked Imperial and the University of Bristol with delivering the independent report and setting out a roadmap.
Cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly frequent in a rapidly digitalising world, with several high-profile attacks occurring this year in the UK, affecting major retail brands and their customers. This presents a serious risk to the UK economy, but also a major opportunity.
"CSEP's mission is to boost the performance and competitiveness of our high-growth sectors by working with industry, government and civil society to achieve that outcome. The UK is world-leading in many sectors and Cyber is one of those." Professor Rupert Shute Director of Engagement at the Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance
The report suggests that more can be done to create a culture of cyber awareness amongst civil society, to harness the relative regional strengths in cyber, improve cyber leadership, utilise procurement to stimulate cyber innovation and use regulation and guidance to support demand-led growth.
The UK Cyber Growth Action Plan will feed into the refreshed National Cyber Strategy and was laid in Parliament as a Command Paper on Friday 19 September.
Nigel Steward, Director of the Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance at Imperial, said: "The cyber security sector in the UK has significant growth potential, and there are clear roles for both government and the private sector identified within the UK Cyber Growth Action Plan to contribute to tapping into that potential. Supporting the sector isn't just an economic opportunity, it's essential for our national security and the resilience of businesses, so we at CSEP are very happy to have been able to produce this independent report in partnership with the University of Bristol to support the government's Modern Industrial Strategy."
Professor Rupert Shute, Director of Engagement at the Centre for Sectoral Economic Performance, said: "CSEP's mission is to boost the performance and competitiveness of our high-growth sectors by working with industry, government and civil society to achieve that outcome. The UK is world-leading in many sectors and Cyber is one of those. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the University of Bristol to support the UK Government and Cyber sector to implement the recommendations in the UK Cyber Growth Action Plan."
Professor Simon Shiu, Professor of Cybersecurity at the University of Bristol, and leader of the report, said: "The message from across the sector is clear: the UK has the talent, ambition and opportunity to lead in cyber security. We can do this by aligning growth with resilience and making strategic choices that benefit the whole economy."
Professor Guy Poppy, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Bristol, said: "The UK's cyber sector is a driver of innovation, resilience and economic growth. This Action Plan provides a timely roadmap, recognising how emerging technologies will shape future challenges and opportunities for stakeholders. It sets out a framework for research, skills and collaboration to turn innovation into growth and nationwide impact. By combining academic excellence with enterprise and policy engagement, we can help build a stronger, more resilient cyber ecosystem."
Read the full UK Cyber Growth Action Plan here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-growth-action-plan-2025/a-uk-cyber-growth-action-plan-final-report
