Greater Manchester Cyber Strategy 2023-2028

Greater Manchester is a city-region rapidly becoming the UK and European centre for cyber and digital ethics, trust and security. Boasting a £5bn digital economy, the location of a GCHQ hub in Manchester was the recognition of the capabilities, expertise and potential of the city region in digital security.

Major global events have affected the way we work. The pandemic accelerated the pace of adoption of digital technology and, combined with the emergence of new threat actors across the world, this has increased the risks of potential cyber attacks. Cyber security has become one of the highest national security priorities, to protect the country, its people, its infrastructure and its assets. (As confirmed in the Government’s National Cyber Strategy 2022).

Greater Manchester is Doing Digital Differently and goes further, it sees digital security as more than just technology, it encompasses the ethics and trust that form the human element of a secure cyber space.

The Greater Manchester Cyber Strategy sets out a 5-year route (2023-28) to further grow our cyber ecosystem, and through that growth, ensure a more prosperous, fairer and greener place.

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In Greater Manchester, we see cyber as synonymous with responsible digital security. We need to ensure that our businesses, services and people are able to operate in a safe and secure cyberspace, whilst benefitting from doing so, and enhance the UK’s overall defence and security posture in line with the National Cyber Strategy. But digital security is about more than technology, it encompasses the ethics and trust that form the human element of a cyber secure place, in which Greater Manchester has significant strengths.

By adopting a holistic approach to cyber, we want to ensure that Greater Manchester is leading the way in both developing and implementing global best practice in responsible cyber security. Our approach will ensure that our cyber ecosystem is actively contributing to our local priorities and national government missions, including achieving clean growth, driving health innovation and ensuring national security. We will make sure that this is delivered in a way which is inclusive and responsible.

At the heart of our strategy, we have shared outcomes that we will strive to achieve for our people, our place and our partnerships.

The Greater Manchester Cyber Strategy 2023-2028 will set out the ways to achieve our vision as a world leading responsible cyber ecosystem that is driven by inclusivity and diversity for the safety, security and prosperity of Greater Manchester and the UK.

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