Outdated computer systems are allowing malicious hackers to target everyone from companies at board level to individuals in their living rooms, according to the chancellor, who is promising to strike back against cyber-attacks.
Philip Hammond will use a speech on Tuesday to unveil a £1.9bn package designed to boost Britain’s defences against a growing online threat, which he will say is invading personal privacy and putting national security at risk.
Speaking before the launch, Hammond said Britain must “keep up with the scale and pace of the threats we face” and insisted that the new funding will “allow us to take even greater steps to defend ourselves in cyberspace and to strike back when we are attacked”.
The money – which almost doubles the amount set out for a similar strategy in 2011 – will be used to improve automated defences to safeguard citizens and businesses, support the cybersecurity industry and deter attacks from criminals and “hostile actors”.
Hammond will say the steps are needed because the cost of crimes in cyberspace globally is $445bn (£365bn), and will argue that society is becoming more vulnerable because of the way in which devices connect.
The government also fears that “old legacy IT systems used by many organisations in the UK” are increasingly susceptible to hackers who find them easier to crack.
Hammond will promise government support but insist that chief executives have a duty to ensure their companies are secure.
The Cabinet Office minister, Ben Gummer, said: “No longer the stuff of spy thrillers and action movies, cyber-attacks are a reality and they are happening now. Our adversaries are varied – organised criminal groups, ‘hacktivists’, untrained teenagers and foreign states.
“The first duty of the government is to keep the nation safe. Any modern state cannot remain secure and prosperous without securing itself in cyberspace. That is why we are taking the decisive action needed to protect our country, our economy and our citizens.”
The money for the new national cybersecurity strategy will be used to focus on defence, including protecting critical infrastructure such as energy and transport.
It is intended that websites impersonating government departments will be shut down much more quickly, and efforts will be made to crack down on spoof email accounts used in fraud cases.
The second plank of the policy will be to target those who persistently attack Britain, with a promise to deploy more than 50 specialist cybercrime investigators, currently being recruited.
There will also be more funding to improve the security of smartphones, tablets and laptops.
The reforms include a new cyber-innovation centre in Cheltenham.
Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the world wide web, speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday said: “Clearly we have seen the internet can be attacked and the United Kingdom needs to have strong, but responsible and accountable police forces and GCHQ has to have the tools to defend us and defend the open internet.
“I don’t think we’d want to make a first strike, but when you are being attacked by a whole lot of domestic appliances, then the way you defend yourself is striking back, by taking over those machines yourself. On the internet, offence and defence really are very related.
“If you buy something and plug it into the internet, for example your webcam, is that it comes with a password set in a factory. So if you as a consumer buy one and plug it in, you better put a password on it not because someone particularly wants to look in your own house, but because an automated machine could be taking over all webcams.”
