Cyber security to get priority in UK defense strategy

The UK director of the Office of Cyber Security, Neil Thompson, announced last week that enforcing cyber security and preparing for internet attacks in Britain will receive more resources. Cyber attacks are deemed to grow as a threat to state security and as undermining national stability.

Thompson made the announcement during a conference discussing the future of Britain’s critical infrastructures like the grid, water and gas. In a similar address, Iain Lobban of the Government Communications HQ said that the British public services have had to deal with “severe disruptions”.

A common thread in these addresses is that the cyber officials call for assistance from the private sector, not in the least from ISPs. Not only because there is much talent and knowledge in the private sector, but also because, Lobban emphasised, cyber security is by no means just a defence issue. "Just because I, as a national security official, am giving a speech about cyber, I don't want you to take away the impression that it is solely a national security or defence issue. It goes to the heart of our economic well-being and national interest."

Thompson warned that not only does the private sector need to be included in combating cyber attacks, cyber strategies need close international cooperation as well, for example through Nato. Nato itself is under a constant cyber barrage, reportedly being attacked a hundred times a day. Dealing with cyber attacks is often difficult as it can be hard to find out who’s doing it and there are no clear definitions about what constitutes an act of aggression and how to respond proportionally.