Defence Minister To Outline National Cyber Battle Plan

Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey is to use a speech to international affairs think-tank Chatham House this afternoon to highlight the cyber warfare threats being encountered by the UK, and how the government plans to tackle it.

The speech by Harvey will also, according to the BBC, provide more details around cyber initiatives mentioned in the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The dangers posed to the UK by cyber attacks were starkly illustrated at the weekend, when the Royal Navy was forced to suspend its website after it was compromised by a Romanian hacker. The website is still down as of Tuesday afternoon.

Previous Warnings

Harvey’s speech echos that of Home Secretary Theresa May, who previously promised increased support for cyber-warfare measures. And just weeks ago the coalition government earmarked £650 million for a national cyber security programme over a four year period.

But it was the rare public statement last month from the boss of GCHQ (the UK agency responsible for gathering intelligence, eavesdropping and breaking codes) that the UK is facing ‘real and credible’ threats from cyber attacks on its critical infrastructure, which drove home the point that cyber warfare is now one of the biggest emerging threats facing this country.

GCHQ director Ian Lobban said that government systems are targeted 1,000 times each month. He said that such attacks threatened Britain’s economic future and added some countries were already using cyber assaults to put pressure on other nations. “Cyberspace is contested every day, every hour, every minute, every second,” he said.

Government Plans

Nick Harvey will also use his speech today to compare a laptop to a cruise missile in terms of being just as effective a piece of weaponry. He will also set out how the government plans to use cyberspace to help the military fight the wars of the future.

And according to the BBC, Harvey will also call for the government to work with industry and academia to combat cyber attacks. Harvey is also expected to warn that governments across the world will have to establish laws governing cyberspace and how it is used.

Despite the threats though, Harvey is to state that the government is still excited about the way the Internet and digital technology enables people to ‘expand their horizons and express their freedoms.’

This is evidenced by the Government backing for the recent ‘UK Get Online Week’, which sought to persuade Internet virgins to try out and use the World Wide Web. This campaign was led by UK Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox, who is trying to get the last remaining ten million Brits online.