GCHQ chief speaks of ransomware battle

SIR Jeremy Fleming, head of Cheltenham-based GCHQ, has said he is “confident” that the UK and its allies can meet the global challenge of an increasing number of ransomware attacks.

Speaking to The Cipher Brief, the intelligence chief said the work being carried out around cyber security is “really impressive” and that the country is in a “good position”.

Sir Jeremy said: “The work that I’m seeing accelerating very strong in the States around cyber security is really impressive.

“I think the work that we and a number of European partners have done puts us in a good position.

“Our challenge now is to make sure that really is leveraged. That we are keeping up having invested so heavily in those sorts of areas, that we’re keeping up with that and we’re thinking about where it should go next and for me that is in the strategic space.

“It’s around making sure we’re designing in technology from security into technology from the start, it’s that we’re shaping the world and the standards the world and the regulation world so that it is able to better implement our values.

“But in the shorter term we’ve got to sort out ransomware and that is no mean feat in itself. We have to be clear on the red lines and behaviours that we want to see.”