UK National Security Strategy
What is the UK National Security Strategy?
The UK’s new National Security Strategy, published on 18 October
2010, sees the UK’s first coalition Government build on the
foundations of the UK’s first National Security Strategy (circa
March 2008).
The 2010 National Security Strategy: ‘A Strong Britain in an Age
of Uncertainity’ for the first time, prioritises the “different and
more complex range of threats from a myriad of sources”. Those
topping the list and grabbing all the headlines are the threat of
terrorist attack (including the use of Chemical, Biological,
Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) materials), cyber attack, natural disaster and international
military crisis. The threats in tiers 2 and 3, although less
likely, should however still represent threats with the potential
to crippple the UK’s Critical National
Infrastructure, its global communications, and its
international communities and assets.
As a dedicated and highly active member of the UK defence and
security industry, Vega is fully committed to the helping UK
Government meet the ever-changing nature of security threats
outlined in the 2010 National Security Strategy.
This includes providing the UK Defence and Security community
with the ability to share information in a
secure and timely manner in order to improve intelligence, and
by extension, accumulate knowledge in
order to minimise the threat of a terrorist strike.
Although the publication leaves the detail of how best to
sustain its international military might to its complementary
publication – the Strategic Defence and Security Review
(SDSR) – the 2010 National Security Strategy clearly
articulates the need to prepare for and counter attacks from
terrorist organisations such as Al Qaeda.
And this vigilance should not just be restricted to the realm of
physical damage; cyber space is a very real fourth dimension in
which battles unrestrained by national borders now take place
daily. Examples such as the Iran Stuxnet worm and the attack on
Estonia’s cyber infrastructure show all too clearly how it is of
paramount importance to secure the networks
and information on which our modern way of living is reliant.
Cyber security has never been so
important – both as a safeguard against fundamentalism, or against
the malicious exploitation of e-crime.
The final consideration to be reiterated in the 2010 National
Security Strategy is the need for robust
continuity planning and corporate governance in response to
natural disaster. The floods of 2007 and the volcanic ash clouds of
early 2010 only serve to highlight just how quickly the fabric of
society can unravel when proper and thorough
contingency plans are not in place.
To paraphrase the 2010 National Security Strategy; we live in an
age of unparalleled opportunity, but also in a world where our
openness and technological innovation exposes us to a unique set of
risks.
The content on the pages under this In Focus topic constitute
both Vega's latest thinking and related activities in support of
the 2010 National Security Strategy and the challenges ahead.
Thought Leadership relating to the UK National Security
Strategy
» The UK National Security Strategy 2008: The devil is
in the detail
» Why protecting the Critical National
Infrastructure in cyber space is so critical
» Does the UK need a National Strategy for
information sharing? – Do we need to Share to Prepare?
» Failure to Connect the Dots
» Maximising the through-life potential of
information sharing systems in the coalition context
» 'Hacktivist' – An old word in the lexicon,
a new twist in execution
Internal links relating to the UK National Security
Strategy
» Business
Continuity Planning and Management
» UK Cyber Security Strategy
» Information Sharing
» Information
Security
» Information Exploitation
» Digital Forensics
» Information Superiority
External websites relating to the UK National Security
Strategy
» Security and Resilience Industry
Suppliers Council (RISC)
»
Intellect's Security and Resilience Portal
» Home Office
Security
» Cabinet Office Security, Intelligence and
Resilience
» UK Border
Agency
» UK National Security Strategy - 2010 (link to download
document)
» UK National Security Strategy - 2009 update (link to
download document)
» UK National Security Strategy 2008 (link to
download document)
» UK Cyber Security Strategy 2009 (link to download
document)
» Cabinet Office Civil
Contingencies Secretariat
Contact Vega about the National
Security Strategy