Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On May 16, 2013, UK Trade & Investment (“UKTI”), a UK government department working with businesses based in the UK to ensure their success in international markets, published the first export strategy paper (the “Paper”) on the UK’s approach to the $100 billion annual cybersecurity export market.

In November 2011, the UK’s Cyber Security Strategy was published. ‘Objective 1’ of the strategy’s implementation plan recognized that cyberspace is an important and expanding part of the UK economy. One of the supporting actions for Objective 1 was to develop a marketing strategy to promote the capabilities of the UK cybersecurity industry to international markets. The Paper responds to this development objective and provides clarity for all UK government and industry stakeholders on the UK’s approach to the cybersecurity export market.

David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, launched the Paper, which sets out the export opportunities and details how the UK government plans to support the sector to find new international customers. David Willetts described the UK as “a strong player in cyber security, offering technical innovation, a skilled workforce, sound legal and regulatory environments, and experience gained through widespread adoption of internet technologies in almost all parts of the UK economy.”

Key actions promoted by the Paper include:

• creating a catalogue of UK cyber specialists;
• preparing market insight reports on overseas opportunities for UK suppliers;
• developing clear guidance on export controls for cybersecurity products and services; and
• ensuring a coherent government approach to working with the cybersecurity sector.

UKTI intends to monitor the progress of the actions, and will provide a quarterly report on achievements. The export strategy is to be reviewed annually and updated by UKTI to reflect the current export environment.