Plans to create the first Scottish Cyber Security Innovation Hub to drive growth and innovation in the sector have been backed by industry leaders.

Led by ScotlandIS Cyber, the initiative is set to benefit the wider Scottish economy through the creation of new jobs while bolstering national cyber resilience.

Plexal, the innovation company behind the London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement and NCSC For Startups, has been awarded the contract to create the business case and strategy for the hub, following funding from Scottish Enterprise.

The business case development is being supported by an advisory group comprised of a team of industry leaders, which includes Professor Bill Buchanan OBE of Edinburgh Napier University, entrepreneur Peter Jaco and former Zonefox execs Matt Little and Jamie Graves.

Representatives from Edinburgh Innovations, The Data Lab, CENSIS, Edinburgh University and Abertay University are also supporting the project.

Ciara Mitchell, Cluster Manager for Scotland’s Cyber Cluster at ScotlandIS, said: “Covid-19 has caused a significant shift in the scale and speed of digital adoption which presents us with a whole new set of cyber challenges and opportunities.

“Approximately 10 new cyber companies are being launched in Scotland each year and it’s vital that we ensure that the necessary resources and support are available to help them flourish.”

Mitchell added: “We also have a well-recognised and growing focus on cyber research and education across numerous universities with the number of students in this field growing each year as well as the number of PhDs.

“It is important to support the commercialisation of the increased number of spinouts generated from this growing volume of PhDs.”

Once established, the hub will support early-stage cyber startups to scale and expand, connecting them to potential new partners, collaborators and investors.

Business guidance will also be provided to Scottish firms, as well as professional learning opportunities.

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Saj Huq, director of innovation at Plexal, said: “Cyber innovation is thriving across the UK and Plexal’s excited to unlock the entrepreneurial, engineering and academic excellence that already exists in Scotland to accelerate the growth of its cybersecurity innovation ecosystem.”

Long-term, Huq said the innovation hub aims to foster closer ties with cyber clusters in London, Manchester and Cheltenham to unlock greater investment and growth opportunities for Scottish firms.

A number of industry partners have already pledged support for cyber innovation hub, including Cisco, Accenture, Iomart, Barrier Networks, Leonardo and NCC Group.