The government will gain wide-ranging powers to rush
through new laws to take control of critical computer systems and
electronic communication networks in the event of a major
cyberterrorism attack against the UK, under a new bill unveiled
last week.
The Civil Contingencies Bill will give ministers the power to do
whatever is necessary to restore communications if parts of the
internet, critical computer systems or phone networks are
disrupted.
The new powers are designed to update the government's disaster
recovery plans for dealing with national emergencies that threaten
critical parts of the UK's national infrastructure.
Large-scale denial of service and hacking attacks orchestrated by
foreign governments or terrorist groups could cause significant
disruption, particularly if used alongside a conventional terrorist
bomb attack against critical computer installations.
Under the new legislation, emergency services could be given powers
to commandeer equipment from the private sector and draw on the
resources of computer specialists to deal with any emergency faced
by the UK.
Although the intelligence services rate the threat against the UK's
electronic infrastructure as "low", the government is anxious to
put mechanisms in place to prepare for future threats as more
government services go online.
"If somebody had a go at government systems as a whole, somewhere
down the line, that could create a national emergency. If someone
shut down the benefits system and caused riots, or attacked the
financial sector or had a go at the NHS, they would be things that
we would worry about," said a government spokesman.
The government plans to conduct joint exercises involving emergency
planning officials and private sector computer experts to model the
impact of cyberattacks on the UK, although they are unlikely to
take place in the immediate future.
The Civil Contingencies Bill defines an emergency as a situation
where human welfare, the environment or the political
administrative or economic stability of the country is under
threat. An attack on computer systems could have an impact on all
of these areas, the Home Office said.
The Civil Contingencies Bill, which will replace the 1920 Emergency
Powers Act, is likely to be introduced at the end of the year,
following a three-month consultation.
Details of the Civil Contingencies Bill at
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk