UK chancellor George Osborne has warned that Isis terrorists are planning to try and gain the cababilities to launch cyberattacks on key UK infrastructure, such as air traffic control systems, hospitals, power providers and more.
According to the BBC, the UK will spend £1.9 billion ($2.9 billion) to fight cybercrime between now and 2020, and more than 450 companies across a range of sectors are already being monitored
“If our electricity supply, or air traffic control or our hospitals are successfully attacked online, the impact can be measured not just in economic damage but of lives lost,” Osborne said.
UK must be ready for hybrid conflicts played out in cyberspace as well as the battlefield and businesses prepared for cyber attack
— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) November 17, 2015
He also re-iterated that while Isis has been using the internet for distributing propaganda and recruitment, the group hasn’t yet harnessed it for an actual attack.
The announcements follow in the wake of last week’s massacre in Paris, in which more than 130 people were killed.
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Hacktivist group Anonymous declared “total war” on Islamic State members yesterday.
➤ Islamic State is plotting deadly cyber-attacks – George Osborne [BBC]
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