United Kingdom Critical Infrastructure Protection Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The United Kingdom Critical Infrastructure Protection market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of about 6.99 % over the forecast period 2021 to 2026. The threat to the UK and its critical infrastructure is growing and evolving due to which the digital infrastructure is under constant threat. To reduce the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure, the UK Government, in partnership with the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, have partnered to work with the private and public sectors to ensure that individuals, businesses, and organizations to adopt the technologies required to stay safe on the Internet and drive improvements which are in the national interest, particularly concerning the cybersecurity of UK's critical national infrastructure.

Key Highlights

• The adoption of cloud computing is driving the market. Currently, cloud computing is widely accepted as a way to control infrastructure costs and accelerate development. But cloud environments are susceptible to the same type of threats as traditional data center environments vulnerabilities in the underlying hardware, operating systems, and software that hackers attempt to exploit. UK government is spending more than GBP 1 billion each year as it undergoes its cloud transition. Critical infrastructure imposes much stronger requirements for security, reliability, and resilience on Cloud Computing environments. Hence the demand increases for CIP (Critical Infrastructure Protection).
• Further, the adoption of investment in the smart city is anticipated to fuel the market. Smart cities have long been in growth, and the United Kingdom is particularly recognized as a smart city pioneer with London, often listed as one of the world's leading smart cities. For instance, London firm takes the total capital raised to GBP 100 million in its mission to transform the global affordable housing market, wherein January 2020, Planet Smart City has secured GBP 20.5 million funding counting it to GBP 100 million. With increasing smart city investment, the demand for critical infrastructure protection significantly raises the market growth in the future.
• Furthermore, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the market growth is not highly affected as of April 2020. The United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) jointly provided an alert on its exploitation by the cybercriminal and advanced persistent threat (APT) groups. The alert specifies a non-exhaustive list of indicators for detection, as well as mitigation of COVID-19-related scams and phishing emails.

Key Market Trends

Risk Management Accounts for Significant Share

• Incidents, such as cyberattacks and international cyber warfare, are helping in increasing the awareness about cybersecurity threats, and these are expected to create a demand for the CIP (Critical Infrastructure Protection) solutions in the country. According to the figures from the global insurer, Hiscox, the small businesses in the United Kingdom are the target of an estimated 65,000 attempted cyberattacks every day. As per Hiscox’s study in 2019, the UK businesses reported an increase in cyber incidences from 40% to 55%.
• Further, in the UK, 44% believe cyber attacks on critical infrastructure are a far greater threat, with telecoms ranked as the most vulnerable component of critical national infrastructure, followed by energy and electricity networks. The legislation on cyberattacks, framed in 2013, was accepted by the United Kingdom and Ireland. For the past few years, the United Kingdom has been cooperating with government bodies and industries to put appropriate protections.​
• Also, the Financial Services sector represents a vital component of the UK's critical infrastructure. In the UK, the average cost of a data breach has grown to nearly GBP 2.7 million, source according to IBM, and according to Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, the average investment of United Kingdom business in cybersecurity in 2019 was highest in Finance/Insurance with the total amount of GBP 22050, and currently in 2020, the attacks are still not being slowed down.
• In March 2020, the London-based fintech company, Finastra, has reported a ransomware attack that prompted the company to shut down its servers and caused disruptions to its global operations as the Finastra risk and security services team has detected abnormal activity on their systems. These instances significantly drive the demand for CIP solutions.
• Further, players are focused on research to address the cyber breach situation. In September 2019, BAE Systems partnered with RUSI on the cybersecurity research program. The RUSI is a newly formed Cyber Security Research program at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Over the next few years, this RUSI-led program is expected to bring a focus on research to support the United Kingdom and the international strategic responses in the cybersecurity domain.​
• Also in March 2020, Vodafone announced its offering of Protective Monitoring for threat detection and prevention with managed firewall (for remotely managing, monitoring, and supporting firewalls to ensure optimal strength and resilience) and managed security services to ensure that businesses get the right kind of support and get prevented by a cyber breach.

Video Surveillance Security System to Witness Significant Growth

• In the United Kingdom, Center for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) takes the lead in advising critical infrastructure companies on protecting their assets in the Energy sector, transportation sector, etc., by using video surveillance providing smart operation and efficient maintenance of the building, which is vital for the infrastructure protection.
• Further, with today’s security climate of global terrorism, there is a need to combat threats to infrastructure security. For this, it is crucial to collect high-quality close‐up video evidence of when, where, and how the security of a remote site was breached, causing considerable loss and damage. UK’s National CCTV Strategy Board has recommended the use of Viseum cameras in their latest National CCTV Strategy Report.
• In January 2020, Viseum’s CCTV security and surveillance announced its patented surveillance. Viseum’s camera automation targets people by their location and behavior related to their surroundings, and even then, only the pertinent video of related faces and activity is accessible. It has two typical modes of operation for access to video data under Viseum Community SafetyWatch privacy protocols, which are Standalone CCTV Security and Proactive Surveillance.
• Also, the increasing government initiatives by the government and the related regulatory bodies to instill new laws and regulations regarding the surveillance and the usage surveillance systems are expected to fuel the growth of the market.
• For instance, in June 2019, the UK government announced a new security standard for surveillance cameras with the view to combat attacks launched by infected camera systems, in a move to instruct the manufacturers of surveillance camera systems and components to ensure that surveillance equipment is secure against unauthorized access by default.
• Further various vendors are offering the solution in the physical security domain in accreditation to the regulations posed by the UK government and allied forums. For instance, in December 2019, a CCTV camera manufacturer, 360 Vision Technology, announced a Predator ‘all-in-one’ PTZ range receiving accredited Vision HS camera solution. It was certified to have completed the CAPSS approval process by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI).

Competitive Landscape

The UK critical infrastructure protection market is highly competitive due to the presence of many small and large players in the market. With the advent of infrastructure attacks, many vendors are responding to the rising threat by offering critical information security solutions. Key players are BAE Systems PLC, G4S PLC, etc. Recent developments in the market are -

• April 2020 - UltraSoC and Agile Analog announced their collaboration that aims to deliver the industry’s most comprehensive hardware-based cybersecurity infrastructure combining UltraSoC’s embedded on-chip analytics with its Agile Analog’s advanced on-chip analog monitoring IP. The combination enables the company to detect and prevent the analog interference of cyberattacks that overcome traditional security measures by tampering with underlying systems, such as power supply levels or clock signals.

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