Chancellor Philip Hammond called on British business to “sharpen its approach” to cyber security as the Queen officially opened the National Cyber Security Centre in London.
The £1.9 billion centre will take the lead on the UK’s cyber security and is central to the Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy, published in autumn last year.
Hammond accompanied the monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh at the official launch.
“Nine out of 10 businesses don’t even have an incident management plan in the event of a cyber breach,” he said.
“The cyber attacks we are seeing are increasing in their frequency, their severity, and their sophistication.”
Part of intelligence agency GCHQ, the NCSC has already dealt with 188 attacks in the past three months.
The Government used the official unveiling to announce a new initiative, Industry 100, which will see 100 temporary places given to private sector staff to work in the centre.
Hammond said: “The Government cannot protect businesses and the general public from the risks of cyber-attack on its own.”
Delighted to have spoken at the #NCSCLaunch. The new centre will work hand in hand with industry to keep Britain safe from cyber-attacks. pic.twitter.com/TFJY1MWQMc
— Philip Hammond (@PHammondMP) February 14, 2017
The centre’s chief executive Ciaran Martin said: “We will help secure our critical services, lead the response to the most serious incidents and improve the underlying security of the internet through technological improvement and advice to citizens and organisations.”
The National Cyber Security 2016-2021 report stated: “The NCSC will analyse, detect and understand cyber threats, and will also provide its cyber security expertise to support the government’s efforts to foster innovation, support a thriving cyber security industry, and stimulate the development of cyber security skills.”