UK'S Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT-UK) goes live. As part of a £650m government investment in cyber security, the unit's aim is to bolster the country's online defences. With the number of cyber-attacks on the rise though, it is questionable whether these steps go far enough.

Mike Ellis, CEO of ForgeRock says “The creation of the UK'S Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT-UK) is a step in the right direction, but, following delays, it is now long overdue. With a strong leadership team and some key partnerships, CERT is well positioned to develop the UK’s cyber defences against state-sponsored and criminal attacks on critical systems, such as the energy grid and power stations. The major problem however is that there is a major glitch in the current IT landscape, an integral flaw that needs to be addressed.

Today's enterprise identity platforms and network security platforms inhabit disparate worlds without any real connection or collaboration between the two. With a rise of internet enabled machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, more devices are dealing with and sharing user credentials without any direct action from the individuals involved. Each transaction between devices dealing with your private data increases the potential number of backdoors that hackers may use to gain access.

It is imperative that governments and businesses address this issue before it is too late. They must use context to bridge the gap between identity and security. The intelligence required to truly foil criminal attacks are lost between the two worlds of identity and security, yet neither segments collaborate. At the moment many companies are, metaphorically speaking, leaving their doors open and letting anyone who wants to come in take what they like. Cyber security needs to be taken as seriously as every part of business protection. Cyber breaches are one of the most pressing and potentially damaging issues that can happen to a company. They cannot rely on the government or task forces to protect their interests, businesses must take security into their own hands.”