Business

Stay Cyber Safe

The vast majority of businesses are heavily reliant on the internet, which means that staying safe online has never been more important. The new Cambridge Cyber Security Cluster hopes to keeps us cyber secure

The internet is crucial for the vast majority of companies operating today. Whether it’s for business-to-business interaction, e-commerce or communicating effectively with customers, a reliable and functioning web presence is paramount for the bottom line. Yet staying safe online and remaining resilient in the face of a cyber attack is increasingly tricky given the ever-evolving threats and malware cooked up by cyber crooks. Then there’s the risk to your brand should the worst happen. Losing consumer confidence or tarnishing your reputation among other companies in the supply chain can cause damage that will take years to rebuild. Having the right security strategy in place should help avoid worst case scenarios like this.

The area around Cambridge has become an epicentre for high-tech businesses operating in the fields of electronics and software

Cambridgeshire is home to Silicon Fen, the UK’s answer to California’s Silicon Valley. Also known as the Cambridge Cluster, the area around Cambridge has become an epicentre for high-tech businesses operating in the fields of electronics and software. Many of these companies are spinoffs from research at the university. It’s no surprise, then, that the Silicon Fen is about to spawn the launch of the Cambridge Cyber Security Cluster – a forum for small companies working in cyber security to meet, exchange ideas and best practices, and form alliances that will enable them to become more than the sum of their parts. The cluster hopes to emulate the success of the Malvern Cluster in Worcestershire – home to another hub of information technology businesses based around GCHQ – which has seen more than 70 companies join within a few years of its founding.

The Cambridge Cyber Security Cluster launches this September. Its role will be twofold, as cluster manager Steve Dance of RiskCentric, a company specialising in vulnerability management, explains: ‘The main point of the cluster is to get cyber security companies together to swap details on emerging issues and share ideas. It will provide the opportunity for like-minded individuals and businesses to network. At the same time we’re also looking to provide an educational forum for the end users of information technology so that people can keep their businesses more secure and resilient in the face of cyber attack or a failure of their systems.’

‘The Cyber Security Cluster is likely to follow similar lines to get the message of cyber security and resilience out there to end users’

Steve envisions the Cambridge Cluster providing free events for businesses to learn how to stay safe. ‘Our company has been running twice yearly business resilience and continuity forums alongside Peterborough-based DSM. The forums promote best practice in the area of disaster recovery. The Cyber Security Cluster is likely to follow similar lines to get the message of cyber security and resilience out there to end users.’

The Government’s National Cyber Security strategy aims to make the UK one of the most secure places in the world to do business in and to derive huge economic and social value from a vibrant, resilient and secure cyberspace. With support and encouragement from Government bodies such as The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), cyber security clusters provide a platform for small businesses in this sector to gain wider profile within the UK Cyber Strategy. The Cambridge Cyber Security Cluster will cover the whole of Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and will reach out into Norfolk. The cluster has already had a lot of interest and with so many cyber security companies in this area it won’t be long before it rivals the size of the Malvern Cluster.

The first companies involved with the cluster will be able to have a direct input on how to raise the profile of the industry

The first Cambridge Cyber Security Cluster meeting is scheduled to take place sometime in September with a keynote address from a senior Government representative. The location will be announced soon. The first companies involved with the cluster will be able to have a direct input on how to raise the profile of the industry. They will also have the opportunity to define the key messages and support they want to bring to the wider business community. ‘It really is up to the organisations that make up the cluster to steer its growth and direction,’ adds Steve.

Register your interest
If you are a small company working in the cyber security sector you can register your interest by going to the UK Cyber Security Forum website www.ukcybersecurityforum.com or by contacting Steve Dance by email at

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