The UK government has released the prospectus for its National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), ahead of the launch of the facility this Autumn.

The blueprint [PDF] outlines that the NCSC will act as a hub for sharing best practices in security between public and private sectors, and will tackle cyber incident response.

As previously reported, the NCSC is being set up to aggregate the UK's cyber expertise. Working with the Bank of England on new cyber security guidance for financial firms is also due to be among its initial objectives.

In the prospectus, Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock explained: "The Centre will be the bridge between industry and government, simplifying the current complex structures, providing a unified source of advice and support, including on managing incidents. It will be a single point of contact for the private and public sectors alike."

Ciaran Martin, former director general of cyber-security at GCHQ, has been appointed chief exec of the NCSC leading the new centre, which will report into GCHQ.

"The Centre will bring together the capabilities already developed by CESG – the Information Security arm of GCHQ – the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, CERT-UK and the Centre for Cyber Assessment, allowing us to build on the best of what we already have, whilst significantly simplifying the current arrangements," Martin said in a canned statement contained within the prospectus.

The UK government has defined "cyber" as a tier-one threat to the UK's national and economic security. This translates in practical terms to a doubling of the investment the UK Government will make in cyber security, to £1.9 billion over the next five years. GCHQ is front and center in leading the delivery of this strategy.

Gordon Morrison, director of government relations at Intel Security, said the centre would help in fighting the growing problem of cybercrime.

"The collaborative and open approach promised from the forthcoming National Cyber Security Centre is critical for tackling the fight against cybercrime," Morrison said.

"We expect that the organisation's openness will help create a greater climate of collaboration and conversation around this significant challenge impacting all aspects of the lives of British businesses and individuals' digital lives.

"Assuming the role of the lead cybersecurity technical authority in the UK, we look forward to working with the NCSC as it embarks on its important mission of responding to cyberattacks on the UK and promoting a diverse and collaborative approach to cybersecurity to improve the country's overall cyber health: between the private and public sector, and both in the UK and internationally," he added. ®