Reid warns on e-terrorism

Attack on critial electronic systems would be 'potentially devastating', says the home secretary

Reid: We must not underestimate the consequences of electronic attack

Home Secretary John Reid has warned that a terrorist assault on vital electronic systems would have a 'potentially devastating' outcome and it is impossible to guarantee a 100 per cent secure defence.

Reid told a Royal United Services Institute conference that an Al Qaeda attack on energy supplies would cause 'incalculable damage'.

'I don't need to remind you of al Qaeda's declared aim to "bleed us to bankruptcy" and I don't need to remind you of their call for attacks on the West's energy supplies, which would cause enormous, incalculable damage if they were achieved,' he said.

'It is easy to appreciate the devastation of a physical attack, but we must not underestimate the potentially devastating consequences of an electronic attack,' said Reid.

He called on the private sector and academic world to play an important role in combating terrorism through innovation.