UK targeted in cyber attacks and fraud bids

THE UK was targeted in more than 600 cyber attacks in the last year and security services handled more than a million cases of suspected credit card fraud.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it had dealt with 658 attacks between September 1, 2018, and August 31 this year, out of a total 1,800 since it was set up in 2016.

Intervention by cyber security experts meant thousands of people were saved from losing any money, according to the centre.

But it warned that a “significant number of incidents continue to come from hostile nation states”.

The figures were revealed in the centre’s third annual review, which sets out its work to protect the public.

It said the launch of Operation Haulster saw any fraudulent intentions against more than a million credit cards automatically flagged to banks, and in the majority of cases before a crime had taken place.

This meant hundreds of thousands of people were protected “before they lost a penny”, according to the review.

Ciaran Martin, the centre’s chief executive, praised the successful operations but said “there is of course much work to do”, adding: “A significant proportion of our work has continued to take the form of defending against hostile state actors.

“We can say that Russia, China, Iran and North Korea continue to pose strategic national security threats to the UK, but we can’t often talk about the operational successes.

“The most immediate threats to UK citizens and businesses come from large-scale global cyber crime.”