Hackers will not be deterred by the UK cyber defences, new report warns

The report comes at a time of heightened awareness of online attack following hacking protests against businesses caught in the WikiLeaks controversy. Photo: Corbis

Military "cyber weapon" will be commonplace this century, but it would be unlikely to deter attacks by "hacktivists" and criminal gangs, and could easily be used for State-sponsored cyber attacks instead of the Organization for economic cooperation and development warns.

British authors of the study, which were released today, also caution "explicit lurid language" and lobbying the Government's technology companies distorts plans to protect the United Kingdom against cyber attacks.

Professor Peter Sommer of LSE and Dr. Ian Brown Oxford University internet Institute was commissioned by the OECD for one of a series of studies of potential "future global shocks".

Their report comes at a time of heightened awareness of online attack following hacking protests against businesses caught in the WikiLeaks controversy.

Answers to other hacking attacks from groups inside China and Russia, is military preparations started to gather pace, the study says. But it also warns: "it is not too difficult for nation States to configure discrete cyber attack units. Any agency that researcher for defensive purposes, the nature of cyber-attacks have all the knowledge required to originate attacks and disguise the fact they are doing.

"Little capital investment required … [en] almost all cyber attacks use hijacked, innocent zombie machines."

Brown says State-supported cyberwar will probably be more common because "cyber weapon will play a key role alongside more conventional and psychological attack of nation States in future warfare". However, the report warns: "a predominantly military [reply] to cyber security is a mistake. Most of the targets in the communications, energy, finance, food, Government, health, transport and water critical national infrastructure is in the private sector. Because it is often difficult to be certain who is attacking you from cyberspace, defence of deterrence is not. "

The authors suggest that "lean, just-in-time delivery systems", supplying supermarkets and manufacturers expose them to serious disturbance if large computer network go down.

"More effective is increasing resilience and robustness of critical systems and society in General … Add redundancy to systems allow some service must be continued, while damaged components in isolation, repair and replacement. Public panic buying can quickly enlarge these interruptions. During 2000 the fuel protests in the United Kingdom stores some imported food rationing. "NATO has created a pole of excellence on cyber defence in Estonia, and last year United States appointed its first cyber warfare General.

"UK [created] office of assurance cyber security and information (Ocsia) and a cyber security operations centre. At European level is Enisa, the European network and information security agency, "the report says.

Ocsia has approximately 20 persons working for it, to bring together experts from military, police and intelligence services. It is the lead agency coordinating £ 650 m cyber security program as the coalition Government announced in October last year.

Summer added: "we do not help us by using the ' cyberwar ' to describe espionage or hacktivist block or unreadable by websites, as seen recently in response to WikiLeaks. Nor is it useful to group the trivially avoidable events like virus and fraud with resolute attempt to interfere with the national infrastructure. "

Cyber warfare strategies and weapons include: unauthorized access to systems [hacking], viruses, and worms that spread across the Internet, Trojan horses, distributed denial of service attack that uses botnets, root-kits and use of social engineering.

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Thompson warns ' two-speed ' net

Mark Thompson is now entered into the debate about net neutrality. Photograph: Felix Clay/guardian

BBC Director General, Mark Thompson, has warned broadband providers not to impose charges for the supply of the corporation's programs to homes via the Internet.

Thompson said today the continued success of online TV services, such as the BBC iPlayer could not be guaranteed, if internet service providers (ISPs) introduced a "fast lane", which would allow them to charge customers to receive content faster.

Thompson said in a speech to the Oxford Media Convention "fast lane" could undermine the BBC has a responsibility to ensure its content is accessible to all licence fee payers of each platform.

"As the Internet becomes a vehicle for the transport of richer and richer content, the question whether all content from all providers be treated equally by the network is becoming increasingly tougher," he added.

"We know the ISPs routinely allay speeds well below published headline rates. They also have the capacity, as they have used in the past – though none of the ISP is currently – to convey some content from some providers at slower speeds than others. "

Does decision to join the debate on "net neutrality" signals, he is ready to mount a robust defence of the BBC the right to provide free online content.

There has been discussion recently about whether Isps should have the right to charge premium rates for companies who are willing to pay extra to ensure their own content delivered first.

Opponents of this idea argue all content should be treated equally and supplied through the network on a first come, first served basis.

Thompson, expressed its support for the latter point of view today, telling an audience of media directors: "net neutrality ... mean [s], no matter how many fast lanes there are basic Internet services – standard lane if you like – should itself provide a very good, and consistently and fairly delivered, service."

The Director-General said he was not opposed to premium services, however, which allow broadband customers pay for faster connections, so that they can download movies and TV programs faster.

"Support net neutrality does not mean being against high-speed premium services like households can choose to subscribe to, and which guarantees the highest quality experience catchup and other Internet resources," added Thompson. "Such premium services is a good idea".

Thompson also highlighted the success of the BBC technological innovations, which he said included the iPlayer and Freeview, agreed to add that it would continue to spend money on research and development, despite the licence fee freeze last year.

"Those who seek to be digital gatekeepers would be only too happy, if the BBC and other broadcasters left technological innovation and platform and network development to others," he said. "They claim that the market can deliver. What I think they mean, in fact, is that they want to give and actually control. "

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