February 14, 2017
The Queen was shown how hackers could target the UK’s electricity supply as she opened a centre to protect the nation from cyber attacks.
The National Cyber Security Centre – part of intelligence agency GCHQ – started work in October as part of a £1.9bn five-year strategy.
Staff in Victoria, central London, will be joined by experts from the private sector to help identify threats.
NCSC chief Ciaran Martin said: “We want to make the UK the hardest target”.
The secondments to the centre by 100 private sector employees will be funded by their own companies.
Announcing the initiative, Chancellor Philip Hammond said the “best and the brightest in industry” will help “test and to challenge the government’s thinking” in cyber security.
He added: “Government cannot protect business and the general public from the risks of cyber-attack on its own. It has to be a team effort. It is only in this way that we can stay one step ahead of the scale and pace of the threat that we face.”