MOD steps up cyber warfare defences

Action taken in the wake of the Wikileaks disclosures

The Ministry of Defence has stepped up its cyber defences in the wake of Wikileaks-related counter-attacks and a Stuxnet viral assault on an Iranian nuclear processing plant.

Armed forces minister Nick Harvey revealed action has been taken to improve cyber security in reply to questions in the Commons from MPs concerned about possible UK weaknesses after attacks were mounted by supporters of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Tory MP Robert Halfon asked what recent steps the MoD has taken to reduce the risk of attacks on the defence estate and called for a statement, citing the Stuxnet attack. Tory MP James Morris warned attacks, which he ascribed to Wikileaks, on critical national infrastructure "are only likely to grow", urging: "We must involve the private sector in ensuring that we can be ahead of the game when it comes to our cyber security."

Harvey told MPs: "We attach a high priority to the cyber defence of our systems." He said his department rated attacks in cyber space as a tier-one risk and had already allocated £650m to enhancing protection.

He said: "There are technical and procedural measures in place to protect MoD systems from cyber attack and to ensure we can mitigate the impact of those attacks."

He said MPs would understand "if I do not comment further on the detail of those measures". The minister explained that defences are regularly tested by intruders and said that he was confident of their adequacy.

He added: "The threat is of course changing in extent and complexity, which requires continual improvements in our security measures and novel approaches to dealing with the more sophisticated threats."

He said the MoD is "committed to working closely with the private sector in defence not only of our own systems but of systems across government".

Other reports indicated that the UK's Revenue and Customs and British judicial authorities are braced for attacks from Anonymous, a loose-knit organisation believed to be behind some of the pro-Wikileaks offences, when Assange is brought back to court to appeal for release on bail pending a full hearing on the request for his extradition.