Blunkett: businesses are blasé over security

 

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By Darien Graham-Smith

Posted on 28 Apr 2009 at 11:25

David Blunkett MP has declared that industry needs to be "scared" into acknowledging the disruptive potential of cyber-attacks.

"The best way I can demonstrate this," he told an audience of security experts and reporters at the Infosecurity conference in London, "is to draw attention to the potential for one of our greatest showcase events to be deeply damaged: the Olympic games."

"It's not just that the ticketing could be disrupted. It's not just about avoiding the type of shambles in miniature we had at the Millennium Dome at the turn of the century, when people queued for hours in the cold."

"Just think about issues relating to transport and accommodation, with the necessity of people putting money up front a long time in advance.

"All of that is open to cyber-attack, not simply in terms of people hacking in, but people having put in place in advance mechanisms for triggering action from a distance at a point when it suits them."

Blunkett went on to express frustration at the failure of businesses to recognise the danger. "Some of the issues can be easily dismissed by those who can't get into their heads the enormity of what might be done. When I talk to those in senior positions at major utility companies, they dismiss out of hand the idea that this could happen."

He suggested a combination of shock education tactics and a more active response was needed, both within businesses and from the Government, to contain the threat.

"We've got to scare people," he declared. "We need to get across the potential for their business to be disrupted. I would like there to be a non-executive in all major companies who has a remit for the security of that company."

"It's pretty obvious that we need a different aproach from the FSA, and a tougher approach from the Information Commissioner; I haven't always agreed with the Information Commissioner's Office, but I'm beginning to warm to the idea of them being involved much more readily than they have been in the past.

"Hacking is theft, and we need to come down on it like a ton of bricks."

Utimately, though, the former Home Secretary was optimistic. "By demonstrating that we're ahead of the game, instead of waiting for things to happen, we can show the world that we are, and can be, a safe and reliable and comfortable environment for the expansion of activity on the web."

"We can be an example and can use this as a major driver as part of the recovery from the global meltdown."