CYBER ATTACKS COULD COST THE UK OVER £27 BILLION IN 2013

 June 2013

Today’s wars are increasingly being fought on computer screens and Nexor, the UK market leader in cyber security, is on the front line.

Stephen Kingan, the CEO of the Nottingham-based company, explains why. “The threats traditionally aimed at the defence sector are now being faced by the whole of UK industry. We have been developing our expertise and technology for over 25 years and we safeguard Government and Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) by providing readily tailored contributions to Information Assurance Programmes.

“Nexor has been instrumental in modernising global defence communication systems and we’re bringing the experience we’ve gained in this critical environment to protect the broader market.”

CNI businesses are part of that broader market and experts believe that they could face considerable danger this year. According to the respected think tank, The Royal United Services Institute, cyber terrorists or hostile governments could soon be attacking satellites, knocking out communication and transport systems or shutting down power plants.

Cyber attacks are organised by a disparate group that includes hackers, spies, cyber criminals, rival businesses, hostile governments and terrorists. Every hour of every day skilled and ruthless individuals, gangs and organisations are disabling systems, disrupting infrastructure, penetrating Government networks and stealing secrets, money, identities and intellectual property.

Dr Tim Watson is a director of the Cyber Security Centre (CSC) at De Montfort University in Leicester. Writing in Jane’s Intelligence Review, he said…”Elements of national infrastructure are now utterly dependent on the cyber domain. The power to disrupt at a national and social level was once the preserve of the state but now cyberspace has become the ‘fifth domain’ after land, sea, air and space… and this domain is still not fully understood.

“Society has become dependent upon a global system of interconnected computers, yet comprehension of how this dependence arose remains limited. Thinking in new ways is the biggest challenge of them all.”

It is estimated that the UK will be the target of over 120,000 cyber attacks every day this year so Nexor look like being busier than ever in the coming months.

The last word goes to Stephen Kingan. “The experience we have gained by working closely with governments, defence departments and intelligence agencies around the world is particularly relevant today in the crucially important Critical National Infrastructure sector. Our challenge in 2013 is to help CNI businesses to protect their critical network systems, according to their Information Governance policies, with the same skills that we have employed in the Military and Defence sectors for the last 25 years.”