Issue Governments struggling to set global cyber standards

Summary

Among its longer-term uncertainties, the report suggests governments around the world may struggle to agree common cyber security standards and to keep up with technological progress. The threats facing the UK come from a complex mix of actors including states, criminals and hacktivists, many of them operating abroad, which hampers law enforcement. Rapid digital change, the concentration of data in the cloud and the spread of remote working have created new vulnerabilities. Domestically, the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill widens regulation and reporting duties, and the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act sets minimum security standards for consumer devices. The report also links this to the chronic risk of challenges to international institutions, since weaker institutions find it harder to secure universal agreements on technology regulation.