Conservatives to put cyber threat in the mainstream

Tom Young, Computing, Friday 15 January 2010 at 16:53:00

IT security to be tackled in co-ordinated fashion alongside other threats

If they win power this year, the Conservatives will implement a new holistic
National Security Strategy that will prioritise cyber warfare as a serious
threat, the party said in a
green
paper published today.

The report says that despite frequent occurrences round the world of service
denial and disruption of inadequately protected electronic systems, the threat
of cyber attack is widely disregarded.

The opposition would remedy this problem by creating a National Security
Council that will replace the Ministerial Committee on National Security,
International Relations and Development and the Ministerial Civil Contingencies
Committee.

This council, chaired by the prime minister, would develop co-ordinated
strategies on terrorism, critical infrastructure, cyber security and conflict
prevention.

It would be supported by a new National Resilience Team reporting into the
Cabinet Office.

The National Resilience Team will adopt a holistic approach to critical
infrastructure and will bring together the functions of the Civil Contingencies
Secretariat, the Information Security and Assurance Unit in the Cabinet Office,
the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, the National Counter
Terrorism Security Office, the Office for Cyber Security and parts of CESG ? the
information security arm of GCHQ.

The National Resilience Team will comprise three units: one for Critical
Infrastructure and Crowded Places, one for Emergency Preparedness, and one for
Cyber Security and Information Assurance.

The Cyber Security and Information Assurance Unit will have responsibility
for setting cyber security policy and standards for all government departments
and critical infrastructure operators.

It will advise government, suppliers, critical infrastructure operators and
also businesses on IT security, develop an exercise programme, and develop
disaster response capabilities.

As most parts of the critical national infrastructure are run by the private
sector, there will be a National Infrastructure Advisory Council which brings
together all private sector operators alongside the National Resilience Team.

"This is increasingly important given that despite the interconnectedness of
the various sectors and the increasing risk of cascading failure, [as] operators
are not talking to each other," the report says.

Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2256240/conservatives-mainstream-cyber