Last month, GCHQ a UK communications intelligence agency announced a second academic research institute, which will find new ways of analysing software automatically to combat cyber threats.

The group hopes it work will provide businesses, individuals and government with additional confidence that software will behave in a secure way when installed on operational networks.  The new research institute is made up of teams from six universities and forms part of the government’s plan to increase the UK’s academic capability in all fields of cyber security.  The initiative will allow UK academics in cyber security to work with industry security experts to tackle some of the toughest challenges in the field.

Science minister, David Willetts, said: “It complements wider work government is doing in partnership with academia and industry to boost the economy through improved cyber security.”