The UK’s cybersecurity chief has warned of a widening gap between cyber threats and the UK and its allies’ ability to defend against them as he called for greater collective action.
Dr Richard Horne, the newly appointed head of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) told the Singapore International Cyber Week event said the threat from cybercriminals and nation states had risen significantly.
He said the NCSC had already responded to 50% more nationally significant incidents compared with last year, as well as a threefold increase in severe incidents.
“Increased dependence on technology is driving growth and transforming societies, creating exciting new opportunities,” he said.
“It also exposes us to greater cyber risks. Without collective action, we risk widening the gap between the escalating threats to our societies, critical services, and businesses, and our ability to defend and be resilient.
“The threat landscape is growing more complex, with significant incidents on the rise.
“To close this gap, we need co-ordinated global efforts to strengthen cyber resilience, ensure security is built into technology from the outset, and prepare both the public and private sectors to not only defend but also recover swiftly from destructive cyber attacks.”
On Tuesday, a report from Microsoft said ransomware and nation state-backed cyber attacks were on the rise, with the number of online scams also up.
That came a day after discount theatre ticketing firm Central Tickets confirmed it had been the subject of a data breach which had compromised some personal user information.
Dr Horne said the growing threat from cyber attacks, which many experts have said is in part being aided by artificial intelligence making it easier for even basic cybercriminals to upskill their capabilities, was a clear incentive for countries to collaborate more.
“The data confirms why global collaboration is more critical than ever,” he said.
“The Counter Ransomware Initiative is a perfect example of this, and I am very proud to work alongside our friends and hosts in Singapore to make it a success.
“Last month, 39 nations and eight international insurance bodies endorsed guidelines for organisations navigating ransomware payments.
“This is a prime example of the progress we can achieve by working together, proving that cyberspace knows no boundaries.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel