Scotland’s internet of things (IoT) innovation centre has launched a programme to strengthen cyber security in the sector.
CENSIS is working with the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise on the IoT Cyber Accelerator programme to support businesses and developers to come up with new products and approaches that will enhance the resilience of networks and devices.
It plans to run a competition to select up to five companies for a six-month programme in which they will receive tailored support in developing their ideas.
A series of workshops will be held for businesses from a range of sectors to identify the challenges and opportunities within IoT.
CENSIS has also partnered with Abertay University to deliver an IoT vulnerability study that will expose risks or flaws in the design of IoT devices – the outcomes will be used to develop or refine best practice guidelines.
At the forefront
Launching the programme, Scotland’s Minister for Public Finance and Technology Kate Forbes, said: “I’m delighted that the Scottish Government is supporting CENSIS and Scottish Enterprise to deliver this programme of activity which will see Scotland at the forefront of these developments.
“We have an ambitious cyber resilience strategy, which at its core is about making Scotland a safe place to live, learn and do business. Developing robust technology, in Scotland, rooted in principles of quality and trust, goes hand in hand with that.”
CENSIS already has a number of IoT projects underway across Scotland, such as working with NHS Highland to developing a testbed to trial non-clinical IoT applications within the health board’s estate, including building maintenance and asset tracking.
It is also partnering with the Scottish Local Government Digital Office to help increase understanding and uptake of IoT technologies across local government.
If you are interested in cyber security, UKAuthority is running a free event for the public sector which comes with CPD learning on 5th December 2019. For more information and to register your place, click here.
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