Government sets up two new cyber security bodies

The Government will create two new public bodies to help protectGovernment and citizens from digital security threats. It will setup one strategy body and one operations centre to increase the UK'scyber security, it said.

The Government has published a Cyber Security Strategy in whichit promises to set up the Office of Cyber Security (OCS) and the UKCyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC). They will be functional byMarch 2010, it said.

It said that the OCS would "provide strategic leadership for andcoherence across Government" and that the CSOC would "activelymonitor the health of cyber space and co-ordinate incidentresponse; enable better understanding of attacks against UKnetworks and users; [and] provide better advice and informationabout the risks to business and the public".

"Just as in the 19th century we had to secure the seas for ournational safety and prosperity, and in the 20th century we had tosecure the air, in the 21st century we also have to secure ouradvantage in cyber space. This Strategy – our first nationalStrategy for cyber security – is an important step towards thatgoal," said a statement from the Cabinet Office.

"The UK is increasingly dependent on cyber space," it said. "Ascyber space continues to evolve, we will pursue the increasingnumber and variety of benefits that it can offer; however, withgrowing dependence also comes a greater exposure to the rapidlyevolving threats."

The CSOC will be designed to monitor and provide solutions toemerging threats, and will be a "multi-agency unit", the Governmentsaid. It will be based in the Government's communicationsheadquarters GCHQ in Cheltenham.

The OCS will be based in the Cabinet Office and will co-ordinatethe Government's work on cyber security.

On the issue of e-crime, the Cabinet Office said that the OCSwill co-ordinate its action with the Home Office and with theAssociation of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which will soonpublish its e-crime strategy.  

"The Government recognises the security challenges of cyberspace," said the Cabinet Office's statement. "It stresses theimportance of a coherent approach, and it will put in place thestructures that the UK needs to weave together new and existingwork and drive forward a programme to meet our strategicobjectives."

"The Strategy highlights the need for Government, business,international partners and the public to work together to meet ourstrategic objectives of reducing risk and exploiting opportunitiesby improving knowledge, capabilities and decision-making in orderto secure the UK’s advantage in cyber space," it said.