The Welsh Government has announced a £3 million investment in a new Cyber Innovation Hub, with plans to train more than 1,000 specialists and grow the national cyber security sector by 50% by 2030.
It said it will provide the money over the next two years, to be matched by £3 million from the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and £3.5 million from consortium partners.
The hub will bring together government, industry and academic partners to provide training and support innovation in the sector.
Cardiff University is to lead the project with partners including Airbus, Alacricity Cyber, CGI, Thales NDEC, Tramshed Tech and the University of South Wales.
Another aim is to attract more than £20 million in private equity investment to scale up businesses in the field.
Transforming region
First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “The Welsh Government is proud to co-fund Cyber Innovation Hub’s mission to transform Cardiff Capital Region into one of the UK’s leading cyber clusters by 2030.
“The pandemic has highlighted just how important cyber innovation is in supporting and protecting information sharing whilst offering data and insight to help keep the region moving and growing.”
Chris Ensor, deputy director for cyber growth at the National Cyber Security Centre, commented: “The Cyber Innovation Hub is a welcome addition to South Wales’ already impressive cyber security ecosystem, bringing benefits not only to the local area but the UK as a whole.
“The NCSC is looking forward to supporting the CIH on its journey of driving the transformation and growth of cyber innovation.”
