Former CIA chief says super-secure internet is needed

Bush's CIA director proposes .secure domain for critical services

A former CIA director has suggested that a new, more secure version of the internet is needed to reduce the threat of cyber attacks.

Michael Hayden, director of US intelligence agency the CIA during George W Bush's presidency, said that a new secure area was needed for critical activities.

"We need a more hardened enterprise structure for some activities and we need to go build it. All those people who want to violate their privacy on Facebook - let them continue to play," said Hayden, according to US government technology site nextgov.

The idea has also interested public-sector advocates who currently work in cyber defence.

US Cyber Command chief General Keith Alexander is said to have pitched the idea of a '.secure' network for critical services such as banking, which users would have to provide certified credentials to gain access, unlike the rest of the public internet.

A number of high-profile hacks have recently been successfully carried out against large enterprises and government bodies.

Between them, hacktivist group Anonymous and now disbanded hacking pranksters Lulzsec have been responsible for hacking servers owned by security firms HBGary and RSA, consumer electronics giant Sony, and the sites of the UK's Serious and Organised Crime Agency and the CIA itself.

But not everyone is convinced that technology alone holds the answer.

Dave Marcus, director of securirty research at McAfee Labs tweeted yesterday: "The problem is it'll be the same users with the same behaviour."