UK cybercrime victims get response team to call on after attacks
The UK's intelligence services have unveiled a 'Cyber Incident Response' scheme for businesses who have fallen victim to cyber-attacks.
The idea involves a set of private companies that organisations should be able to turn to in the event of attack. In its pilot phase, those companies will be BAE Systems Detica, Mandiant, Cassidian and Context IS.
The scheme is backed by GCHQ information assurance division CESG, as well as the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI).
"The growing cyberthreat makes it inevitable that some attacks will get through either where basic security is not implemented, or when an organisation is targeted by a highly capable attacker," cybersecurity minister Chloë Smith said in a statement on Wednesday. "'Cyber Incident Response' services provide access to organisations certified by CESG/CPNI to respond effectively to cyber incidents."
Businesses who suffer an attack are supposed to contact one of the pilot companies directly, a GCHQ spokesperson told ZDNet, although a central information page can be found here.
Smith pointed out that this is not the first move by GCHQ to help keep UK businesses secure. The spy centre began doling out cybersecurity advice for organisations back in September.
More broadly, the government and GCHQ are trying to establish the UK as something of a hub for online security services. They, along with several universities and research councils, set up a 'Research Institute in the Science of Cyber Security' at University College London in September.