Hacking is greater threat than military attack
By Graeme Wearden
Fri, 30 Mar 2001 07:14:12 GMT
URL: http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2001/12/ns-21939.html
Foreign secretary Robin Cook warns that the fabric of British life is at
risk from viruses or a hack attack
The foreign secretary warned on Thursday that hacking
(http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/specials/1999/07/hackers/) and computer
viruses (http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2001/12/ns-21887.html) present a
bigger threat to Britain than a military attack.
Speaking at the Open Intelligence and Security Debate at the House of
Commons in London, Robin Cook said that because technology had an
increasingly important role in all aspects of life in the UK, vital
services such as power and water supply were at risk of attack from
hackers.
However, Cook claimed that the government was taking action to combat the
threat. "Computers now manage most of our critical national
infrastructure but with these new opportunities there also comes the risk
of new threats. A computer-based attack could cripple the nation more
quickly than a military strike," warned Cook.
The UK government got a taste of the dangers of hacking last week when
its European single currency Web site -- www.euro.gov.uk -- was plastered
with insulting messages
(http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2001/10/ns-21520.html) about the Queen.
According to the foreign secretary, the government's "National
Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre" is already improving its
ability to react to electronic attack. Cook was keen to point out that a
national alert was issued within one hour of the Anna Kournikova
(http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2001/6/ns-21042.html) virus hitting the UK.
The purpose of the National Infrastructure Security Coordination Centre
(NISCC) is to defend Critical National Infrastructure within government
departments and the private sector from the threat posed by electronic
attack -- including monitoring and increase awareness of the threat,
defending against it and responding to incidents. It was criticised for
its slow reaction to the Love Bug virus
(http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2000/17/ns-15186.html) last summer.
The Open Intelligence and Security Debate has been called to examine the
role of the UK's secret intelligence agencies now that the Cold War is
over.
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