New UK cyber centre to defend defence infrastructure

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will spend £40m on a Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC). The facility is expected to defend defence infrastructure against hackers and those intent on cyber espionage. The move reflects wider plans to modernise the MoD’s operational cyber security capability and the government has set aside £1.9bn over five years to achieve this. Speaking about CSOC, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “Our increasing defence budget means that we can stay ahead of our adversaries in cyberspace while also investing in conventional capabilities.”

The MOD says CSOC will help the UK address growing threats in cybersecurity Image: Getty

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to spend £40m on a new Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) in an effort to strengthen the UK's defences against cyber threats.

The new centre will be based at a the MoD facility in Corsham, Wiltshire and will be equipped with 'state-of-the-art' defensive cyber capabilities to defend defence infrastructure from malicious actors, such as cybercriminals, hackers and other nations attempting to engage in cyber espionage.

The investment in the CSOC forms part of a wider government plan to modernise and transform the MOD's operational cyber security capabilities, something which the government says it will invest a total of £1.9bn in over the next five years in order to protect the country from cyber attacks.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the new centre will ensure that the armed forces continue to operate securely: "Our increasing defence budget means that we can stay ahead of our adversaries in cyberspace while also investing in conventional capabilities," he said.

CSOC will form part of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre initiative, designed to address the challenge of sharing MoD cyber security challenges across government departments, with international allies and industry as a whole.

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