Technology | 2009.06.26
Security stepped up over cyber threats
Intelligence agencies led by GCHQ, the government\'s electronic spy centre, are to step up operations against a growing threat of cyber-attacks, the government announcedtoday as part of an updated "national security strategy".
A new cyber-security operations centre will be attached to GCHQ in Cheltenham. A policy co-ordinating office dealing with cyber-security will also be set up in Whitehall under Neil Thompson, a senior official, with staff from MI5, MI6 and other government agencies.
Cyberspace was a new area where "hostile states, terrorists, and criminals … can all threaten UK security interests", the Cabinet Office said.
The Association of Chief Police Officers is drawing up what it calls a new strategy on law enforcement and cyber-crime.
Lord West, the Home Office security minister, was coy at a press briefing about the extent of cyber-attacks on Britain. "We know various state actors are very interested in cyber-warfare," he said. He declined to comment on which countries had tried to attack British government systems but referred to remarks by Jonathan Evans, MI5\'s head, who has accused China and Russia of state-sponsored espionage against parts of Britain\'s economy.
The Guardian reported in 2007 that Chinese hackers, some believed to be from the People\'s Liberation Army, had been attacking the computer networks of British government departments, including the Foreign Office.
West said "a large number" of cyber-attacks were known about. "I\'m not aware of any key piece of information [lost]." Officials estimated the cost to the UK of cyber attacks was "over a billion a year".
BT has reported 1,000 attacks on its networks every day, West said. But he said most of those were "low grade". He also said terrorists were not the biggest threat, though they were learning quickly.
Concern about the vulnerability of smart personal electronic systems has meant very few senior government officials using them; those who do have their systems vetted and protected by GCHQ.
"It\'s one reason why I have a stone age phone," West said. "When you get one of those marvellous new ones … you have opened yourself up to all the internet issues. Suddenly people can get access to all sorts of data." An official said: "The lack of BlackBerrys in Whitehall illustrates the point." No 10 did not respond when asked if Gordon Brown, like Barack Obama, had a BlackBerry.
West said GCHQ and its US equivalent, the National Security Agency (NSA), were working together on cyber-security. He said the UK was less vulnerable than US networks. Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, this week proposed a new body, run by the NSA, to defend military networks against computer attacks and develop offensive "cyber-weapons".
In a clear reference to GCHQ, West said British agencies had the capacity to counter-attack hostile computer systems. The government said it would set up an "ethics advisory group" designed to "make sure government activity on cyber-security is consistent with personal freedoms to use cyberspace". The group would monitor government activities to ensure they were proportionate.
The government declines to say what the measures will cost, saying only that it will run into "hundreds of millions".
The shadow security minister, Lady Neville-Jones, said: "The government has missed an opportunity to review muddled structures … We are also left waiting for a lot of detail on organised crime, maritime security and energy security."
The Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Tom Brake, said: "This new cyber-security strategy could lead to an extension of the government\'s invasive counter-terrorism powers, which already pose significant threats to our civil liberties."
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/[...]er-crime-hacking-gchq-security
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