Tech wizards and geeks – your army needs you

Brains: Defence secretary says forces need to attract computer-savvy people

Britain’s armed forces need to recruit a new generation of “geeks and tech wizards” to counter the growing threat of cyber warfare, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has said.

Sir Michael said the old Cold War era had been succeeded by a new “grey war” marked by cyber strikes – sometimes backed by foreign states – which constantly threatened to spill over into outright conflict.

Addressing the Royal United Services Institute land warfare conference in London, he announced a reorganisation of the army’s Royal Corps of Signals and the Intelligence Corps – bringing them under a single command – to bolster the country’s cyber defences.

He said the changes – including an additional regiment for the Royal Signals – would bring a “laser-like focus and coordination” to the military’s efforts to counter attacks like the recent hack of Parliament’s network.

“We have anonymous cyber foes, sponsored by state or non-state entities, lurking behind the veil of encryption, targeting our national infrastructure, as we saw with the recent cyber strike on Parliament itself,” he said.

“We know that we have to reach out to the brilliant brains of tomorrow,” he said. “We know that we need to maintain the army as an attractive proposition to those who might not have immediately considered choosing a military career – cyber geeks, tech wizards.”

He spoke as a second major cyber attack struck in as many months.

A hospital in the US and pharmaceutical company Merck also fell victim, with Cadbury owner Mondelez International adding it had experienced a “global IT outage”. A German Second World War pilot has made his maiden voyage in a Spitfire.

Hugo Broch, 95, believes he was the first German pilot to ever fly in one when he took off from the runway at Biggin Hill on Tuesday.

Filmed for presenter Dan Snow’s recently launched video-ondemand service HistoryHit. tv, the footage will be shown in a documentary in October.

Snow, who charted the flight’s progress, said it was “an unprecedented, once-in-a-lifetime event”.

Born in January 1922, Broch is a former Messerschmitt 109 fighter pilot and Luftwaffe ace.

During his career, he was credited with 81 victories in 324 missions and is a recipient of the Knight’s

Picture: PA. Cross of the Iron Cross during the war, awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He also won the German Cross in Gold and the Iron Cross.