Government working to attract highly skilled IT staff for cyber defence

The government has said it is proactively working to ensure it is able to attract and retain enough highly skilled IT workers to protect the nation's technology infrastructure as cyber warfare threats increase.

In a document submitted to parliament by the government in response to concerns raised by the Intelligence and Security Committee's 2010-2011 report, the coalition said it understands the need to make sure it has enough highly skilled IT professionals.

"The government shares the committee's concerns regarding maintaining a highly skilled cadre of internet security specialists and is taking a number of proactive steps to address the issue," it said.

"Under the National Cyber Security Programme, the government will support individual departments and agencies in developing cyber security training and skills programmes for their staff."

The government also said it is regularly reviewing its pay structures as part of its efforts to ensure it retains highly trained staff. This is done to make sure staff are not tempted to join the private sector or even other governments.

"Experienced internet specialists are highly prized by both government and industry and GCHQ recognises that it therefore needs to maintain its competitiveness in the marketplace," it said.

"It is for this reason that GCHQ already uses a retention payment system which is reviewed from time to time to ensure it remains competitive."

The government also gave its backing to initiatives, such as the Cyber Security Challenge, designed to help find and nurture those with the latent skills to become high-level IT professionals.

Cyber security is one of the biggest issues facing governments' national security, and the UK has already set aside an additional £500m to fight this threat at a time when most budgets are being slashed, underlining how seriously it is taking the risk.