Welcome to PublicTechnology Cyber Week [1].

This marks the second year in a row we have dedicated a week of content to this theme, which speaks to its increasing importance to the public sector – and the country as a whole.

Indeed, during the pandemic the threat to all of us has grown, as cybercriminals have been typically opportunistic in trying to exploit the crisis. Disinformation and misinformation has also flourished online and even work as crucial as the development of vaccines has – according to the government – been subject to attack [2] by our nation-state cyber adversaries.

But work has also continued to combat these threats. The government has striven to work with social media giants to stem dangerous misinformation [3], while also planning the launch of a new national cybersecurity strategy.

In the meantime, individual departments, as well as local councils and NHS bodies, will all have done their bit to prevent and mitigate the threats facing them.

Across this week – brought to you in association with Akamai – PublicTechnology will publish a range of feature, research, interview and analysis content examining how they are doing so, and the challenges they face.

We begin with some exclusive research on the number of data breaches [4] suffered by local authorities during the pandemic, as well as a report on how cyber experts at the Department for Work and Pensions stymied a “major attack” during the early months of the Covid outbreak.

There will be lots more dedicated content across the week including, on Wednesday, a webinar discussion in which NHS Digital [5]will discuss the challenges it has faced in the past 18 months, ensuring the resilience of its services in the face of unprecedented demand.

All content from the week can be accessed here [1].

We hope you enjoy PublicTechnology Cyber Week [1].