UK Defense Committee Draws New Rules of Engagement in Case of Military Cyber Attacks

The UK Defense Committee published a report in which it underlined the importance of cyber security defenses and the risks of having military communication technologies compromised if subjected to attacks.

With 650 million pounds ($1 billion) to be invested in cyber security over the next four years, the Defense Committee places a strong emphasis on the danger of cyber-attacks. Developing new and effective counter measures to prevent such actions is worth the investment and collaborating with security experts is highly recommended, said Defence & Space Co.`s Cassidian U.K. chief executive officer, Mo Stevens.

“There needs to be continued investment in research and government-sponsored collaboration opportunities to ensure the leading cyber security players share knowledge and experiences,” said Stevens in an email to Bloomberg.

Acknowledging that cyber-attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, the need for stronger countermeasures and carefully planned contingency plans is dire, said Defense Minister Andrew Murrison.

“The UK armed forces and the equipment and assets they use are amongst the world’s most modern and advanced, so of course information technology plays a vital role in their operation,” said Murrison. “Far from being complacent, the MoD takes the protection of our systems extremely seriously and has a range of contingency plans in place to defend against increasingly sophisticated attacks although, for reasons of national security, we would not discuss these in detail.”

The Defense Committee`s report is described as “worrying” by Shadow defense secretary Jim Murphy, as it underlines how reliant on communication technology the UK military really is. With hacktivists and foreign militaries focused on infiltrating and collecting classified data, UK`s Defense Committee report raises serious military security concerns.