Britain under increasing threat of cyber attack

Britain is under mounting threat of cyber attack, security officials warned yesterday.

Electronic infiltration by hostile foreign powers and criminal gangs is the second biggest risk to the nation. Government IT systems "have been and continue to be attacked," the first public National Risk Register revealed.

"Some of these attacks are well planned and well executed," it added. The suspects are Chinese and Russian security services. But North Koreans and Iranians are also skilled at hacking IT systems. The register said: "They are increasingly combining traditional intelligence with technical attacks, like penetrating computer networks through the internet."