UK infrastructure faces cyber threat, says GCHQ chief

[zag]

I'm sorry but this is just ridiculous! The guy is going on about malicious worms and seams to think its a problem because they are in their "thousands". Also mentions Intellectual property theft as a big problem. What that has to do with GCHQ I have no idea.

 

The UK's critical infrastructure - such as power grids and emergency services - faces a "real and credible" threat of cyber attack, the head of GCHQ says.

 

BBC News - UK infrastructure faces cyber threat, says GCHQ chief

Edited October 13, 2010 by zag

[apoth0r]

It's scare mongering time at the moment, front page of the local paper last night warned of 'terrorist alerts' that enabled parents to pull children off trips to large cities. It's becoming a little americanised for my liking, it's basically saying "we think someone is going to do something but we don't have enough intelligence to know where it is going to be" EVERYBODY PANIC!

[pete]

a) it's the bbc - they'll print any old unsubstantiated rubbish / PR waffle as an "IT story".

b) FUD. A better, less sexy and less likely to be published storyline would be "The government gets targetted spam/malware too, news at 11".

[PiqueABoo]

What that has to do with GCHQ I have no idea.

 

Well that's coz you're not a security geek: CSEG is part of GCHQ. Amongst many other things they certify pen-testers (CHECK) and more generally provide "advice and assistance on the security of communications and electronic data"

 

And for context I take it everyone has read the intimate details of Stuxnet (symantec paper) that all sorts of security orgs have been spinning for all its worth recently? There is at least some substance in the perceived threats.

 

PS: To make this more relevant I recall suggesting that BECTA security guidance was likely a watered-down-for-schools version of CSEG stuff for gov. Might not be the case, but the data security classification and tagging certainly made it look that way.

Edited October 13, 2010 by PiqueABoo
PS