BRITAIN faces a growing risk of cyber attacks by hackers and scammers, MPs will say today.
The UK is “particularly vulnerable” because we spend so much time online, the Public Accounts Committee says.
Tech-savvy spies in the National Cyber Security Centre have dealt with more than 1,100 incidents in less than three years.
And the threat is getting harder to deal with the line between criminal gangs and hostile states becomes blurred.
To protect shoppers, the MPs say there should be a “kitemark” or “traffic light” system on gadgets to show how safe they are.
Meg Hillier MP, chairman of the committee, said: “With its world-leading digital economy, the UK is more vulnerable than ever before to cyber attacks.
“As the likelihood of these attacks continues to grow, the UK needs to protect itself against the risks created by more and more services going online.”
A massive £1.9billion has been set aside for cyber security by the Cabinet Office in recent years, today’s report says.
Yet the MPs say the Government has no idea if it has been well-spent so far, or if it will meet its targets by 2021.
They call on the Government to do more to protect consumers by helping them find out if the internet-connected devices they are buying, or the companies they are handing their details to online, are holding their data securely.
