Government and business computers regularly targeted by hackers, says security minister
Source: Jamie Doward, The Observer:
Lord West, the security minister, says there were 300 significant attacks on core government computer systems last year.
Foreign states and terrorist groups are regularly launching cyber-attacks on the UK’s computer systems with the potential to cause widespread damage, according to the government’s security tsar.
Lord West of Spithead, who is parliamentary under-secretary for security and counter-terrorism, told the Observer that the UK was under daily cyber attack, often from agencies working on behalf of foreign governments.
He said there had been “300 significant attacks” on the government’s core computer networks in the last year and warned of chaotic scenes if one successfully targeted infrastructure such as the UK’s communications systems.
The security service, MI5, has warned that tackling espionage conducted by Chinese and Russian agents is taking up an increasing amount of its time.
West declined to identify the states carrying out the cyber-attacks on UK computer systems, but it is clear that he shares the service’s fears that some states are using communications systems and computer networks to seek confidential information held by government agencies and private companies in the UK.