Defence Minister opens £3M Cyber Security Centre in Gloucester

Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin visited Gloucester last week to open Lockheed Martin’s £3 million, job-creating Cyber Security Centre.

The Government is investing £1.9 billion in cyber security as part of its five-year National Cyber Security Strategy.

The new ‘Cyber Works’ centre, is designed to tackle the complex cyber threats the UK faces. It will create 90 high tech jobs in Gloucester and enable Lockheed Martin to work closely with its UK partners to share knowledge, research and deliver cutting edge capabilities.

Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin said: “With our £1.9 billion National Cyber Security Strategy, Britain is a world leader in the field and the opening of today’s cutting-edge centre is a great example of how partnerships with industry are at the heart of that strategy.

“Together we are developing solutions to national security risks. We are already leading in NATO with support to offensive and defensive operations in the fight against Daesh and complex cyber threats, and I’m also delighted that this centre will further boost the UK’s cyber capabilities.”

A key part of the strategy is partnerships with industry, with £10 million being invested in a new Cyber Innovation Fund to give start-ups the boost and partners they need, while the £6.5 million CyberInvest Scheme is building a community of industry, government, and academics to support cutting-edge research and build UK security in cyber space.

The ‘Cyber Works’ centre will support Lockheed Martin’s contribution to CyberInvest, while the company has also signed up to the Government’s CyberFirst scheme which will boost UK skills by inspiring and supporting young people considering roles in cyber security and intelligence.