MoD data stolen in cyber espionage attack

[Matt]

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) was the victim of a cyber espionage attack that led to the theft of key data, in the latest evidence of the sustained cyber threats facing the UK.

The revelation comes from a report by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) in its annual report to parliament, in which it revealed that the MoD confirmed the loss in the section on the cyber threats facing the UK.

The report said: “Government departments are also targeted via attacks on industry suppliers, which may hold government information on their own systems. We have been told that cyber espionage ‘[has] resulted in MOD data being stolen'."

V3 contacted the MoD for more information on the attack but had received no information at the time of publication.

Not only this, but the ISC also reported that numerous government departments were hit by a attack in the summer of 2012 with 200 email accounts within 30 departments targeted.

“In recent years, many government departments have come under cyber attack: often, this has involved websites being disrupted by denial-of-service attacks, and last summer over 200 email accounts across 30 government departments were targeted in an attempt to steal confidential information,” it said.

The ISC said the government systems to protect against such attacks are “reasonably well developed” but there are still concerns over whether updates to key security tools and software are applied quickly enough to protect networks.

Overall the ISC said such attacks underline the scale of the threat facing the UK and the need for the government to do all it can to protect against cybercrime.

“The threat the UK is facing from cyber attacks is disturbing in its scale and complexity. The theft of intellectual property, personal details and classified information causes significant harm, both financial and non-financial,” it said.

“It is incumbent on everyone – individuals, companies and the Government – to take responsibility for their own cyber security. We support the Government’s efforts to raise awareness and, more importantly, our nation’s defences.”

As such it said that, while spending cuts in the defence budget were accepted, cyber security must remain a key priority for future resources.

“Planning must begin now to ensure that resources will be made available to combat cyber attacks in the latter half of this decade, bearing in mind the resources our allies are putting into this area in recognition of the seriousness of the threat," it said.

"The government must ensure that real progress is made as part of the wider National Cyber Security Strategy: the UK cannot afford not to keep pace with the cyber threat."

Sursa V3.co.uk