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Governments addressing online fraud and cyber terrorism

By Andrew Redfern @ 25th June 2009 11:30 am

Two stories have came to light this week outlining how governments are taking steps to address the twin threats of efraud cyber-terrorism.

It has been announced that the British Government are to set up two new monitoring bodies to address the growing online threats. The Office of Cyber Security will co-ordinate policy across UK government as well as looking at legal and ethical issues online.

It is thought that the new agency will be tasked with bringing people together from across government and from outside to get a better handle on cyber security issues.

The other body known as The Cyber Security Operations Centre will be based at government listening post GCHQ in Cheltenhamand will be responsible for startegies aimed at better protecting the country, providing advice and information about online security threats. They will a responsible for identifying when cyber attacks are taking place, where they come from and what can be done to stop them.

The new Cyber Security Operations Centre will work closely with the designated parts of the critical national infrastructure and wider industry and officials say that business are keen for the government to take a lead but also share as much information as possible.

This moved mirrors similar devlopments in the US where it has recently been announced that a shake-up of how the country deals with the growing threat from online attack will take place.

Most eye-catching in these reports is that the head of America’s National Security Agency says that America needs to build a digital warfare force for the future. Lt Gen Keith Alexander heads the Pentagon’s new Cyber Command and outlined his views in a report for the House Armed Services subcommittee. In it, he stated that the US needs to reorganise its online offensive and defensive online in the face of a growing threat.

The US administration is due to publish the results of a 60-day review on cyber-security ordered by President Obama and it’s thought that it will report the need for a much more robust repsonse to the threats both by the US Government and by the organisations and companies associated with it’s security and military.

Just last week there were reports of a security breach of the £225bn F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft project. The aircraft Manufacturer Lockheed-Martin insisted no classified data was stolen however it throws the issue into sharp contrast and highlights the growing need for a formal, organised authority dealing with the ever more critical area of online security.

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