China drafts three-year plan to boost its cybersecurity industry amid increasing concerns for data safety

MIIT’s strategy to develop the cybersecurity industry estimates the sector may be worth more than US$38.6bil by 2023. Cyber threats have risen during last year but China is also boosting cybersecurity for national security reasons, experts say. — SCMP

China is working on a plan to boost its cybersecurity industry as the country grows more concerned about the safety of its data in response to increasing global tension and rising calls for better individual protections.

The country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released the draft of its most detailed strategy yet for the development of China’s cybersecurity industry on Monday for public comment, mandating that key industries such as telecommunications devote 10% of their IT upgrade budget to cybersecurity by 2023.