50,000 victims a day targeted in hackers’ tax refund scam
£2bn to fight foreign cyber attacks
HACKERS have sent fake emails pretending to be from the Government to more than 50,000 Britons a day in a tax refund scam.
The bogus communication was asking for personal details in order to reclaim money – and took six weeks to close down.
Details of the cyber attack, which peaked in September, emerged as the Government grows increasingly alarmed at the scale of attempted online fraud. Ministers are due to announce today a £2billion plan to fight cyber attacks by criminals and hostile states like Russia and China.
Officials believe reliance on modern technology has made the UK ‘increasingly vulnerable’, with vital infrastructure such as hospitals, power stations, airports and banks all being targeted.
Speaking ahead of today’s announcement, Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer said: ‘Cyber attacks are no longer the stuff of spy thrillers and action movies – they are a reality and they are happening now. Our adversaries are varied – organised criminal group “hactivists”, untrained teenagers and foreign states.
‘Any modern state cannot remain secure and prosperous without securing itself in cyberspace. That is why we are taking decisive action to protect our country, our economy and our citizens.’
Chancellor Philip Hammond, who signed off the £1.9billion deal, said the new initiative would also give the UK the capacity to ‘strike back when we are attacked’.
The new cash will fund a fiveyear strategy, and effectively doubles existing spending on cyber defence.
Ministers want to implant ‘automated defences’ in cyberspace that prevent malicious emails and hacking attacks from reaching their target.
Officials said the Government was already having modest success on the issue. New websites sending out computer viruses would typically have taken a month to close down in the past, but can now be shut in two days. Websites impersonating government departments are now typically closed down within five hours of being identified, compared to an average of two days in the past.
But Government sources acknowledge Britain faces a huge challenge in combatting cyber attacks. The National Security Council has discussed the growing threat from hostile states like Russia.
And ministers are also concerned about the vulnerability of parts of Britain’s creaking
‘Protect our country’
infrastructure. Company chiefs will get advice on protecting ‘legacy IT systems’ which are seen as easy prey by hackers.
There is also concern about the development of the socalled ‘ internet of things’, which allows smart devices in everyday items to be operated remotely. A source said: ‘Old legacy IT systems used by many organisations in the UK, and the readily available suite of user-friendly hacking tools mean everyone from the living room to the boardroom is exposed to malicious hackers.’
Today’s initiative will fund the recruitment of 50 ‘specialist cyber crime investigators’ to ‘ pursue the most serious incidents of cyber crime’. It will also fund the creation of a new Cyber Security Research Unit to find ways of improving security on smartphones, laptops and tablets.
A source said: ‘ We will take the fight to those who threaten Britain in cyber- space and relentlessly pursue anyone who persists in attacking us. This will be done in part through strengthening our law enforcement capabilities to raise the cost of cyber- crime, building international partnerships and being clear that the UK will defend itself in cyberspace and strike back against those that try to harm our country.’