Security chief warns digital exclusion is leaving the country exposed as new Prime Minister enters Downing Street

Andy Burnham was urged to put cyber security at the top of his agenda today after being appointed Britain’s new Prime Minister.

The former Greater Manchester mayor entered Downing Street amid warnings that digital exclusion has become a national security risk which could be exploited by hostile actors.

Burnham was appointed by King Charles at Buckingham Palace after Keir Starmer tendered his resignation this morning.

Steve Durbin, chief executive of the Information Security Forum (ISF), said Burnham must make cyber resilience, digital skills and access to technology central to his government.

Speaking to Juliette Foster on Business Matters, Durbin said cyber defence should be one of Burnham’s first priorities because warfare, public services and business resilience now depend on secure technology.

“Defence has to be up there,” he said. “So much of what we do now is based on the technology.”

Burnham championed community access to technology and public services during his time as mayor, but Durbin said the issue now had to be treated as a national security priority.

Digital inclusion, he said, means giving people the skills and confidence to use phones, apps and online services safely.

“For a lot of people, digital inclusion means handing people a telephone, a smartphone, and saying, well, there you go,” Durbin added.

“It isn’t just about access. It’s about the knowledge that you need to actually make use of the technology that you have access to.”

He said the movement of more public services online was creating a growing challenge for government, citing HMRC’s drive to make tax digital.

Asked whether digital exclusion made Britain more vulnerable, Durbin said: “I do.”

“We have to remember that hostile actors will always go for the weakest link,” he added. “There is also a national security component in this as well.”

Durbin said Ukraine had shown how quickly technology could transform defence, particularly through drones and digital systems operated by people with transferable skills.

Drone technology was “very akin to playing with a PlayStation”, he said, opening possible career routes for people familiar with similar controls.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology had done “some good things” by drawing on outside expertise, Durbin said, but official thinking remained too focused on technical systems rather than the people targeted by attackers.

“That, for me, is like old school cyber,” he said. “We need now to be shifting to focus not just on that piece, but also on the people element, because that becomes the weakest link.”

Cyber education should begin in schools, he added.

Durbin said NATO, Five Eyes and GlobalEye remained vital to cyber resilience and hybrid warfare, but cooperation depended on trust.

“The amount of sharing that goes on across there has been outstanding over the years,” he said of Five Eyes. “But it has to be formed on this basis of trust.”

Countries which failed to invest, share intelligence or make credible contributions risked losing access to the highest levels of cooperation.

Burnham takes office during political and economic uncertainty, with companies watching for changes affecting investment and national security.

Durbin said businesses should protect their most important assets and prepare for several outcomes.

“What we’re seeing is organisations moving much more to scenario-based planning,” he said. “Let’s take a few scenarios around this and let’s plan accordingly.”

A poor commercial environment could drive companies and entrepreneurs overseas, he warned.

“The barrier to movement now has been significantly reduced,” Durbin said. “You do run the risk of some of your smartest, brightest entrepreneurs and businesses leaving.”

Cyber resilience should be treated as part of Britain’s basic infrastructure alongside gas, electricity and water because essential utilities depended on technology, he said.

Britain’s cyber skills shortage could not be solved through technical training or STEM subjects alone.

The sector also needed curiosity, creativity and problem-solving skills, including those found among arts graduates.

“The sorts of skills that you need could equally be well found with people with arts degrees,” he said.

Durbin called for apprenticeships, internships and training programmes, with large employers helping entry-level recruits.

He said cyber insurers were improving business behaviour by demanding stronger policies and evidence that companies could respond to attacks.

Cyber checks should also become a more serious part of mergers and acquisitions so buyers understood the systems, data and risks they were taking on.

Asked whether Burnham’s arrival offered an opportunity to reset Britain’s cyber resilience, Durbin said: “Clearly, there’s an opportunity.”

He also called for more people in government with direct experience of cyber security, technology and digital resilience.

Watch Steve Durbin, chief executive of the Information Security Forum, in conversation with Juliette Foster on Business Matters, on The European’s YouTube channel.

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