Part Two – The Digital Revolution (Part Four)

Economic Unit

Cybersecurity Workforce Shortage in the United Kingdom

Like many other economic sectors, businesses have faced significant skills challenges, both among cybersecurity personnel and employees with cybersecurity-related skills.
According to research on cybersecurity skills in the UK labor market, published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the overall shortage of cybersecurity professionals has grown each year due to the accumulation of unmet demand from previous years.

It is estimated that around 30% of companies operating in the cybersecurity sector in 2024 experienced a technical skills gap. Moreover, both employers and recruiters believe there is substantial uncertainty about the future of the cybersecurity skills market, mainly due to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence.

More broadly, the government has estimated that around 637,000 businesses suffer from a “basic technical cybersecurity skills gap,” meaning that employees responsible for cybersecurity lack the confidence to perform fundamental tasks under government-backed schemes such as Cyber Essentials, which is further discussed in this report.

Recommendations

The government should consider:

• How to address the existing shortage of cybersecurity professionals in the UK, and

• How to support more businesses in training and upskilling their employees in cybersecurity practices.

Government Actions

Digital Infrastructure

Since the new government took office, major updates have been introduced regarding the security of the UK’s digital infrastructure.
In September 2024, Chris Bryant, Minister for Data Protection and Telecommunications, announced that the government intends to designate the UK’s data infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) — placing it in the same category as the energy and water sectors.

This step recognizes the importance of data infrastructure for essential services, the value of stored data, and its security threats.

As part of this CNI designation, Minister Bryant stated that this move demonstrates “the government’s determination to work more closely with the UK’s data infrastructure sector to mitigate security threats.”
He added that he is confident these measures — to be implemented comprehensively and in close consultation with industry — will ensure a high level of security and resilience for this increasingly vital infrastructure, strengthen public and investor confidence, and support UK economic growth.

Recommendations

The government should work closely with businesses operating in the UK’s data infrastructure sector to discuss additional steps required to strengthen trust in the country’s digital infrastructure.

These actions may include:

• Providing incentives to encourage adequate investment in cybersecurity capabilities, and

• Allocating resources and offering assistance to businesses.