Govt ‘needs cybersecurity minister’ to thwart Russia

MPs have called for the Government to appoint a minister for cybersecurity, and slammed its attempts to prevent future cyberattacks as “wholly inadequate”.

In a report the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy criticised ministers for failing to act with “a meaningful sense of purpose or urgency” at a time when Russia posed a significant threat to the UK’S infrastructure.

It said that while the Government had identified cyber-attacks as a “top-tier” national threat, its response hasn’t been strong enough.

The committee added that a “controlling mind” in the form of a cybersecurity minister is needed to take charge of building a national defence.

Fears of an attack on infrastructure such as energy, health services and transport have increased this year, with Russia seen as the main threat. In January Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security Centre, said it was “inevitable” the UK would be hit.

Mr Martin’s team was praised by the committee, but warned that the Government hadn’t given it enough resources to defend the country sufficiently.

In response a Government spokeswoman said: “Ensuring our critical national infrastructure is secure and resilient against cyber attacks is a priority for the Government, which is why we are investing £1.9 billion to improve our cyber capabilities”.