Osborne did, however, add that the decision to double cyber defence funding at the National Cyber Security Centre had already been taken before Friday’s incident in Paris, in which over 120 people were killed by terrorist gunmen and suicide bombers.
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Speaking from the headquarters of GCHQ in Cheltenham, British Finance Minister George Osborne warned that Islamic state militants are trying to plot potentially deadly cyber attacks and British companies need to protect their network against these.
Mr Osborne will say: “It is right that we choose to invest in our cyber-defences even at a time when we must cut other budgets”. “We are not winning as often as we need to against those who would hurt us in cyberspace”.
According to the BBC, the Government doesn’t believe IS yet have the capability, but they are working towards it.
He added that the Islamic State’s “murderous brutality has a strong digital element” and stressed that tackling their guns, bombs and knives means tackling their cyber threat as well.
As part of the £1.9bn spending increase more than 1,900 new staff across the UK’s three intelligence agencies and the first National Cyber Centre, which will be home to the UK’s first dedicated Cyber Force. The EconoTimes content received through this service is the intellectual property of EconoTimes or its third party suppliers.
Prime Minister David Cameron also announced he would make a fresh effort to build support for Britain to join air strikes on Syria, saying there was now a “compelling case” for doing so.
Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud. A French official says Abdelhamid Abaaoud is the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks was also linked to thwarted train and church attacks..
“The stakes could hardly be higher”, he said. “If our electricity supply, or our air traffic control, or our hospitals were successfully attacked online, the impact could be measured not just in terms of economic damage but of lives lost”.
“It is a bold, comprehensive plan, that will give Britain the next generation of cyber security, and make Britain one of the safest places to do business on line”, said Osborne.
GCHQ will work with the Ministry of Defence to develop tools and techniques to counter-attack over the Internet, Osborne said.
British intelligence agencies now employ 12,700 people across domestic security agency MI5, overseas intelligence agency MI6 and communications agency GCHQ. “Defending our citizens from hostile powers, criminals or terrorists, the Internet represents a critical axis of potential vulnerability”.
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Mr Osborne defended the expenditure ahead of an expected announcement of fresh overall spending cuts next week. The National Cyber Security Centre is an important step forward for our national capability, and a unified approach from the Government will help enable businesses to access the best cyber security tools.
