HP Discover: US Navy facing 110,000 cyber attacks every hour

FRANKFURT: The US Navy's internal IT system is facing 110,000 cyber attacks every hour, according to HP.

The firm has been managing the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) contract, and its transition to a Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) since 2010 in a deal worth $3bn.

HP is having to guard against increasing numbers of cyber attacks, in its role providing these systems, the head of enterprise services at HP, Mike Nefkens, explained at the firm's Discover event in Frankfurt.

"For the US Navy we provide the network for 800,000 men and woman in 2,000 locations around the world, protecting them against 110,000 cyber attacks every hour," he said.

"This means the attacks average out at about 1,833 per minute or 30 every second."

The huge numbers underline the growing threats to major institutions in both the public and private sectors, with governments placing increasing importance on ensuring major organisations are prepared to deal with threats to their networks.

Only this week, the UK government outlined its plans to deal with cyber attacks, claiming it is well placed to fight off state malware like the Flame tool seen in Iran, and announcing plans to recruit more skilled cyber workers to help protect the nation's infrastructure.

Further touting HP's outsourcing capabilities, Nefkens also revealed HP manages some 5.5 million mobile devices across 100 countries and some 13 billion credit card transactions every year.