The chief of MI6 has said that the changing nature of threats needs a greater degree of openness from modern intelligence agencies.

In his first speech since taking on the role last year, Richard Moore spoke about human intelligence in the digital age.

The head of the UK’s secret service said that the organisation plans to partner with the tech industry to help develop “world-class technologies” to solve its biggest mission problems, saying that to “stay secret” it needs to become “more open.”

“We cannot match the scale and resources of the global tech industry, so we shouldn’t try,” said Moore. “Instead we should seek their help.

“Through the National Security Strategic Investment Fund we are opening up our mission problems to those with talent in organisations that wouldn’t normally work with national security.”

Cyber ecosystem Plexal launched the NCSC for Startups programme in partnership with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), an initiative focused on pairing solutions to the cyber challenges that are mission-critical to national security.

Saj Huq, director of innovation at the company, welcomed Moore’s call for openness with the technology community.

"We support the view of MI6's new head of secret intelligence services Richard Moore that governments need to work more closely with the private sector to tackle cyber threats,” he said. “As technology becomes increasingly important to every aspect of the economy and society, we’ve reached the intersection between national security and technological innovation.

"Cybersecurity has been shrouded in secrecy and mystery but that is changing fast. We’re now in a new paradigm for cyber and there is an understanding that it’s too important to leave to either the public or private sector. Collaboration is what will unlock the potential of emerging technologies such as AI and quantum computing, both of which can help the UK achieve a technological advantage and enable the levels of cybersecurity the country needs to counter sophisticated threats.”

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