So Boris Johnson Is Now in Charge of the UK's Cybersecurity

Infamous British political clown and ex-London mayor Boris Johnson was pronounced the UK's foreign minister on 13 July following the rise of the UK's new Prime Minister Theresa May, and one of his key responsibilities in the role will be cybersecurity.

Cyber threats against the UK are on the rise. According to a policy paper released by the UK government in 2015, 81 percent of large corporations and 60 percent of small businesses reported a cyber breach in 2014.

Over the past few years, BoJo has gained notoriety for mishandling political and social situations in the real world. He once, for example, requested then was staunchly denied a trip to see the front lines of the battle against the Islamic State. He's likened Hillary Clinton to a "sadistic nurse in a mental hospital," and mercilessly ploughed down a kid during a "friendly" rugby game.

Now this man is expanding his sphere of influence into the virtual realm.

Johnson isn't totally new to speaking out on cybersecurity issues. He's openly suggested that encryption allows the spread of terrorism, and has shown some willingness to tackle online threats to companies in the past. While Mayor of London, his Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) provided a two-year fund of £325,000 to the London Digital Security Centre (LDSC), which launched in July 2014. The center brought together experts from business, policing, and technology and aims to provide London's SMEs with digital security advice.

But that didn't seem enough. In March 2016, Conservative London Assembly member Roger Evans called for Johnson to establish a "Mayor's Standard" of cybersecurity helping businesses in London combat online fraud. Evans also urged Johnson to convince companies to declare when they'd been hit by a cyberattack. Johnson accepted Evan's recommendations, saying on Mayor's Question Time—meetings that take place 10 times per year—that, though he didn't think he had "much time to develop" the idea himself, it was a "very good idea."

On other occasions, Johnson has acted less as a cybersecurity advocate and more as a target. In 2015, organizers of the Cyber Security Challenge—a gaming competition aimed to bolster the skills of aspiring security professionals—concocted a fictional scenario that explored the possibility of blowing up Boris Johnson and other VIPS gathered at a green tech meeting.

It's still early days, so BoJo's future tactics in keeping the peace in cyberspace remain to be seen.