UK facing increased threat of cyber terrorist attack

The director of GCHQ has warned that the UK is facing the very real threat of a cyber terrorist attack.

Iain Lobban said during a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies that the UK's economic future relies on its ability to fend off cyber attacks on the country's critical infrastructure.

Lobban explained that GCHQ has a role to play in all areas of UK security, and had its roots in the code breakers at Bletchley Park.

"Through the intervening years our achievements have remained at that high level of technological expertise. Our people, of whom I am immensely proud, remain one of this country's great unsung assets," he said.

Securing the UK's critical infrastructure and protecting against malware is a constantly evolving task, Lobban added.

"We have seen worms cause significant disruption to government systems, both targeted deliberately against us and picked up from the internet accidentally," he said.

"There are over 20,000 malicious emails on government networks each month. Cyber space lowers the bar for entry to the espionage game for states and criminals."

Lobban explained that the risks in all these areas are growing in line with the growth of the internet.

"Cyber space is contested every day, every hour, every minute, every second. I can vouch for that from the displays in our own operations centre of minute-by-minute cyber attempts to penetrate systems around the world," he said.

Government use of technology is well documented, from self-service portals to plans for ID cards, medical and police databases and the systems it uses to operate.

Lobban said that the government will continue to put services online, but that it has to be done without putting citizens' data at risk, and without opening up payment systems to fraud. "This is a big challenge," he warned.

Lobban called the growth of electronic crime "disturbing", adding that when thousands of credit card details are stolen they are sold for a handful of pounds. Yet the implications go much deeper than financial loss.

"E-crime begins to look like a low-risk, but potentially high-profit, opportunity for the creative criminal. So we need to change that," he said.

Likely solutions include better reporting mechanisms, increased use of intelligence, improved law enforcement and better control at the supplier end.

"The owners of vulnerable services can help by adhering to good information assurance practices," he said.

Lobban promised that the UK is committed to working with other countries and law enforcement agencies to deal with the most advanced attacks, and that such co-operation is critical.

"Where there is a deliberate or an unintended spread of a worm that threatens critical systems, countermeasures will need to be co-ordinated internationally in order to be effective," he said.