Cyber plans get go-ahead
Plans to make Scarborough a “national centre of excellence for cyber security” have been given the go-ahead by the borough council.
The plans, which include spending £140,000 of council funds and accepting a £97,000 grant from the company Anglo American, hope to establish Scarborough and the Yorkshire coast as a “national centre of excellence for cyber security with a specialist focus on operational technology”.
Authority to “enter into contract with the successful bidders” from the invitations to tender regarding the project was also granted to the authority’s interim director of regeneration.
The Cyber Security Cluster Strategy was approved by the council’s cabinet member for inclusive growth, Cllr Liz Colling.
The £237,000 pilot project aims to be completed by the end of March next year when local government reorganisation will see borough councils replaced by a new North Yorkshire Council.
A report published by Scarborough Council states that the project will be built around “a network approach” that will draw on physical buildings including Scarborough’s proposed FabLab+ facility.
The FabLab+ project is part of the council’s levelling up and “gateway” redevelopment plans for demolishing the former Comet building and creating new town centre digital workspaces.
Aims for the March deadline include engaging with around 120 individuals and organisations on increasing cyber security awareness, training initiatives designed to increase understanding of career opportunities, creating a “real-world” science challenge, posed by a local business, and introducing young people “to the fastpaced world of cyber security”.
In developing the pilot scheme, the council has worked with the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which has a base at Irton Moor near Scarborough, Coventry University Scarborough, and Anglo American, which has a major mining project south of Whitby.
A council report states that cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly frequent across the world, adding that “the expansion of the UK’s investment in offensive cyber operations creates new opportunities”.