The government's 2022 National Cyber Strategy, launched on 15 December 2021, sets out how the UK will solidify its position as a force in the cyber space.  The strategy calls on all parts of our society to play their part in supporting the government action plan in building a cyber resilient economy. This includes the reinforcement of cyber capabilities, prioritisation of cyber security across sectors and highlights the need for capability building and more diversity in the workforce.

It focuses on five ?pillars? as laid out below:

• Pillar 1 - Strengthening the UK's cyber ecosystem
• Pillar 2 - Building a resilient and prosperous digital UK
• Pillar 3 - Taking the lead in the technologies vital to cyber power
• Pillar 4 - Advancing UK global leadership and influence for a more secure, prosperous and open international order
• Pillar 5 - Detecting, disrupting and deterring adversaries 

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) will play a key role in the delivery of this strategy. This follows its call for views on cyber security in supply chains and managed service providers.  Representing UK Finance, I was invited to a closed door session with DCMS to explore how sectors have responded to the rise in cyber threats, followed closely by our response to the call for views and discussions with DCMS to highlight the significance of the role the financial sector plays in the UK's cyber resilience.

In alignment with the UK's 2022 National Cyber Strategy, on 19 January 2022 DCMS released a second consultation on its Proposal for legislation to improve the UK's cyber resilience. This consultation focuses on pillars 1 and 2 of the UK's National Cyber Strategy and calls for the implementation of solutions to improve the cyber resilience of the country. In particular, within key sectors such as IT service providers and managed service providers.

Through our ongoing advocacy with members, regulators and government, UK Finance is well positioned on behalf of the financial sector to support the government in the execution of its strategy, particularly pillars 1, 2 and 4. Central to this is our development and operationalisation of the Financial Sector Cyber Collaboration Centre (FSCCC) and our sustained relationship with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

The work we have done with the FSCCC has seen unprecedented collaboration amongst financial institutions who are willing to openly discuss vulnerabilities and strategies in the face of potentially serious, systemic cyber incidents. Furthermore, we are keen to promote the continuous development of capability through training and development to make the financial sector a cyber resilient one that protects customers and citizens alike.

We look forward to responding to these consultations and continuing to work with both DCMS and NCSC now and in the future.