The UK cybersecurity sector attracted record investments in the last financial year, rising 14% compared to the previous period.

According to government data, UK registered cybersecurity firms secured £1 billion of investments across 84 deals.

The DCMS Annual Cyber Sector Report noted that the 1,838 cybersecurity firms working in the UK generated a total of £10.1bn in revenue.

In addition, the UK’s cybersecurity sector contributed around £5.3bn to the UK economy in 2021, rising by a third on the previous year from £4bn – the largest increase since the report began in 2018.

Employment in the sector also rose by 13%, with more than 6,000 new jobs created, bringing the total number of people working in cybersecurity to 52,700.

Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Cybersecurity firms are major contributors to the UK’s incredible tech success story.

“Hundreds of British firms from Edinburgh to Bristol are developing and selling cutting-edge cyber tools around the world that make it safer for people to live and work online.

“We are investing in skills training and business initiatives to help the UK go from strength to strength as a global cyber power and open up the sector to people from all walks of life.”

As a whole, the cybersecurity sector saw double digit growth last year.

Almost 300 UK-headquartered cybersecurity firms have offices in international markets, with 56% offering their products and services in the US and 46% exporting to the EU.

The UK attracted a number of foreign companies, with US-headquartered companies representing one in ten UK-based cyber companies, highlighting the importance of US-UK collaboration in this area to support the UK’s economic growth.

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The government’s National Cyber Strategy is supporting UK firms to grow and scale up through a number of schemes, including the National Cyber Security Centre Startups and CyberFirst bursary schemes, the London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement, and the Cyber Runway programme which helps entrepreneurs and businesses access a range of services to turn their ideas into commercial successes.

Vicky Brock, CEO and co-founder of Vistalworks, said: “Vistalworks was originally founded in response to a Scottish government innovation challenge to find innovative technology solutions to online illicit trade.

“As we’ve grown, working closely with our government agency and cyber security stakeholders has remained incredibly important.

“The Cyber Runway Scale programme has enabled us to reach new public and private sector contacts, including contracts with banks and enforcement, and has helped us develop the skills and awareness we need to take our intelligence solutions to new markets and partners across the rest of the UK and beyond.”

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