Network Security

Electronic networks are critical to modern society and as such the security and resilience of the resulting infrastructure is key to maintaining availability of these networks.

Information Security is a major growth area, and one where the UK is well placed to become a global leader. The Network Security Innovation Platform (NSIP) was created to respond to and address this challenge.

The NSIP is concerned with the confidentiality, integrity and availability of a network communications infrastructure, the information being transmitted across that network and the systems that use it to communicate. This will inevitably include the people using the network, and it is therefore relevant to include the usability of such systems.

The UK Government takes the security of information very seriously and as such many government departments have significant interest in the risks which information maybe subjected to.

However, the real challenge that faces the NSIP is to bring together key Government Departments, academia and business to identify where innovation could be used to solve specific problems.

The success of this collaborative approach can be seen in the recent projects that have been commissioned. The UK knowledge economy has a unique opportunity to influence the global market, and for UK companies to exploit the opportunities on offer.

The Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform's information security breaches survey 2008 found that:

• Within the UK 84% of companies are heavily dependant upon their IT systems.
• In 2008, the average cost of a security incident for a large company (>250 employees) was between £90k-£170k.
• 84% of companies do not scan outbound email for confidential data leakage.