Tuesday 17 November 2015

Osborne to seek £1.9bn cybersecurity budget to tackle Isis threats

The Islamic State (Isis) could launch cyberattacks in the UK which can cripple critical infrastructure, Chancellor George Osborne is expected to warn in a speech at the GCHQ. The attacks could target power stations, the National Grid and hospitals.

While acknowledging that the IS does not yet have the capacity to do this, Osborne is expected to announce that Britain will commit to doubling expenditure on cybersecurity to £1.9bn (€2.7bn, $2.8bn) by 2020. A “National Cyber Centre” at the GCHQ to respond to major attacks on Britain is also on the cards.

Isis has won more followers and attracted new recruits by effectively using the social media. While intercepting their communications, experts recently found that the militants have switched from open communication sources to embedded devices that cannot be tapped.

However, opinions differ on the technological capabilities of the militants. Many point out that the group has only been able to deface websites and indulge in minor hacking. A group of hackers claiming to be affiliated with the Isis had declared a “cyber caliphate” last year. Britain’s intelligence head Alex Younger has also warned that technology now allows militants to “see what we are doing and to put our people and agents at risk”. For the full article click here 



from cyber security caucus http://ift.tt/1j4IkR5
via IFTTT

No comments:

Post a Comment