UK businesses have been hit by a new wave of hacking attacks from
pro-Islamic groups opposing Britain's involvement in the war
against terrorism and a possible war with Iraq.
Over the past seven weeks, the UK has experienced more hacking
attacks than any other country except the US and Germany, as
pro-Islamic groups seek to disrupt economic targets.
In October alone, the worst month for cyber-attacks since records
began, UK organisations suffered more than £40m worth of damage,
research by consultancy Mi2g reveals. The total cost of hacking
attacks in the UK has rocketed from £473m in 2001 to £780m in the
first 10 months of this year.
The trend has alarmed security experts who fear that terrorist
groups could cause widespread disruption with physical and Internet
attacks. It has also raised questions about how the UK deals with
this sort of threat.
"The UK has leapfrogged into second position for October, and third
position for 2002 as a whole," said D K Matai, chairman and chief
executive of Mi2g. "The main reason is the UK's support on the war
against terrorism."
The number of monthly hacking attacks has tripled since 11
September, Mi2g's research reveals. For the first time this month,
British firms and institutions have suffered more than twice as
many attacks than organisations in any other country apart from the
US.
Over recent weeks, British companies have been hit by a spate of
denial of service attacks, Web site defacements, and attacks on
their databases. In one attack alone this month, 200 Web sites were
defaced with pro-Islamic messages.
The attacks have resulted in firms suffering lost productivity even
if back-up systems are in place.