The U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to set up a "Cyber Reserve" composed of computer experts who will work with the armed forces to protect the country from online threats. The British government is also planning to establish a national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT).

The announcements came with an update on the U.K.'s Cyber Security Strategy, which was unveiled last year, by Francis Maude, minister for the cabinet office. The CERT will "improve national co-ordination of cyber incidents and act as a focus point for international sharing of technical information on cyber security," he said.

The Cyber Reserve will "draw on the wider talent and skills of the nation in the cyber field," letting the armed services call upon extra help when they need it. "The exact composition is currently in development and a detailed announcement will follow in 2013," Mr. Maude said, according to Tech Week Europe.

Mr. Maude also noted the government was developing a permanent information sharing environment called CISP (Cyber-security Information Sharing Partnership), which will start in January 2013. Both industry players and the government have been working on CISP, which will be initially open to critical national infrastructure sectors. Others will be able to benefit at a later date.

Furthermore, a cyber growth partnership with Intellect, the representative body for the U.K. technology industry, was announced. This will consist of a "high level group which will identify how to support the growth of the UK cyber security industry, with an emphasis on increasing exports."