Government and businesses unite against cyber threats

Agents and analysts from MI5 and GCHQ will work together with private sector to fight cyber threats.

14:00 28 March 2013

According to reports, Britain suffers at least 120,000 cyber attacks per day. Common targets are finance, defence, energy, telecoms, and pharmaceutical sectors. Because of this, the government and businesses have united against cyber threats.

It was revealed that agents from MI5 and GCHQ will work together in a new government “fusion cell.” Under the Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership, industry figures will be provided with a specialist forum where information about online attack and methods that can be used to fight cyber terrorism will be shared.

A “Facebook for cyber security threats” will also be launched. This will operate on social network lines. Analysts, who are based at a secret location in London, can choose whom they share information with.

 

One senior official who refused to be named, said: “What the fusion cell will be doing is pulling together a single, richer intelligence picture of what is going on in cyberspace and the threats attacking the UK.”

 

Addding: “What we are trying to do is get that better intelligence picture and push it out to industry in a way that they can take action on, so it is very action-orientated. “