Warwickshire businesses call for cybersecurity support from government

Business leaders are calling on the government to support companies across Coventry and Warwickshire that are facing increased cybersecurity risks.

Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has joined forces with the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) to warn that businesses face increasing risks of attack without stronger engagement with government.

The chamber is backing a new report published by the BCC calling on ministers to carry out a cybersecurity awareness programme for businesses – particularly smaller firms – as well as update the National Cyber Strategy and reform cybersecurity insurance to provide firms with better protection.

It’s also recommending that ministers address the shortage of UK cybersecurity professionals, support more training in all workplaces and engage directly with businesses to strengthen confidence in the UK’s digital infrastructure.

The report has been produced by the BCC’s Digital Revolution Challenge Group, drawing on expertise from businesses of all sizes and sectors, academia and thinktanks.

It advises that the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, due to be published this year, must be developed in full consultation with businesses to avoid creating ‘an unnecessary burden for businesses’ and to ensure that firms are ‘actively incentivised to report cyber breaches or attacks’.

This will then support the government’s growth agenda by strengthening cyber resilience.

Corin Crane, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “It’s clear that cyber security threats pose a significant risk to businesses – particularly SMEs, which are less likely to have in-house expertise to mitigate these risks.

“It’s therefore incredibly important that the government does all it can to protect businesses and consult with them when developing the new Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.

“Any legislation should avoid creating further costs for businesses, providing businesses with certainty and helping to drive economic growth.”

Mike Bridges, director of IT at EBC Group, added: “The British Chambers of Commerce has highlighted the increasing risk of cybersecurity threats to businesses and is quite rightly calling on the government for support.

“Cybersecurity education and promoting awareness is crucial for businesses so that the correct level of security is implemented and there are no weak entry points.

“With artificial intelligence growing at an accelerated rate, it’s essential that underlying infrastructure is secure, locked down and monitored.

“AI works at a rate that is thousands of times faster than humans, so the speed at which a cyber threat can become a huge problem, and potentially disastrous for a business, is now much more of a concern.

“Therefore, action must be taken to protect companies that have taken years to build but could be compromised in seconds.”

EBC Group is set to hold a free AI and cyber security event alongside the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce at Warwick Conferences on 11 April.