Britain’s Nuclear Arsenal Could Be Vulnerable To Cyber Attack
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Labour’s former Defence Secretary Lord Browne warns of severe risk to Britain’s nuclear deterrent unless “weak spots” are protected. If such security holes as may be present are not patched up, there is “no guarantee” that a reliable nuclear deterrent will be available for the Prime Minister “when he needs to reach for it,” Lord Browne says.
The UK government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review claims the country is a “world leader” in cyber security, but experts warn that Trident, the UK’s nuclear weapons system, could be rendered useless by a cyber attack.
“I’m afraid the reality is that any defence facility, or national public or private infrastructure service, could be hacked,” says Adrian Crawley, regional director for northern Europe at Radware – a cyber security provider. “Cyber attacks are advancing all the time,” he added.
As autonomous and internet connected systems take up ever more critical positions in national infrastructures, concerted efforts must be made to shore up security against potential attacks.
“As automation becomes a normal part of how we live our lives, so we must ensure that every point in a corporate or public network is continuously assessed for weakness,” Crawley said.
“Meticulous scanning for risk needs to include people and process too as it only takes one person with knowledge to cause damage.”
Dr Kevin Curran, senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and lecturer at Ulster University says “Trident must ban devices capable of intercepting wireless.”
With enough investment and planning securing the nuclear deterrent is possible, says Crawley, but the efforts would be costly.
“While the sums seem very high for Trident, they are probably realistic. They reflect the effort that’s required, which includes a focused local scheme integrated with international collaboration both in terms of intelligence gathering, and the physical technology that’s required for intervention and prevention,” he said.