UK faces 'credible' cyber threat

The head of a UK intelligence agency has urged government and industry to work together on a defense against cyber attacks, in his first public address.
 
Ian Lobban, director of eavesdropping agency GCHQ, says there is a “credible” threat of a cyber attack on the country’s critical infrastructure, and that worms had already caused “significant disruption,” to government systems.
 
He revealed the rate of attacks on government networks is already equal to one every 90 minutes and are growing by 60% each year, during an address to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London this week
 
Lobban called for a coordinated response from government, telecoms firms, vendors of hardware and software, and managed services providers.
 
“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,” he said.