Britain reveals "disturbing" rise in cyberattacks

Oct 31, 2011, 13:20 GMT

London - Attacks by computer hackers on British government data systems and defence-related industries have reached 'disturbing levels,' intelligence experts warned Monday.

There had been a 'significant' - but unsuccessful - cyberattack on the Foreign Office and other government departments over the summer, according to the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ).

Its head, Iain Lobham, said the attacks had reached a frequency that could place the government's 'continued economic wellbeing' under threat.

Sensitive data on government computers had been targeted, along with defence, technology and engineering firms' designs, Lobham wrote in an article for the Times newspaper.

'We are witnessing the development of a global criminal market place - a parallel black economy where cyber dollars are traded in exchange for UK citizens' credit card details,' wrote Lobham.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in an interview with the Times that there had been an 'exponential rise' in incidents, with systems such as welfare and tax databases 'liable to attack.'

Details of credit card users were being traded on illegal websites for as little as 70 pence (1.12 dollars), revealed Hague.

'Countries that cannot maintain cybersecurity of their banking system, of the intellectual property of their companies, will be at a serious disadvantage in the world,' Hague told the Times.

The warnings came ahead of a two-day international conference on cybersecurity in London, hosted by Hague. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will be among the main speakers at the conference.