The Foreign Secretary has outlined attempts by cyber-criminals to attack the British Government.
During a conference in Munich, William Hague told how Government computers had been infected by a virus last year and also spoke of an attempt to steal data from a UK defense contractor.
He urged Governments across the globe to move faster to counteract the threat of cyber attacks, stating that like-minded countries should act swiftly to agree standards of behaviour on the internet.
Worringly, the majority of viral attacks had been passed via email containing embedded codes and malicious files from a hostile intelligence agency, used to steal information.
As attacks become more sophisticated, concerns are rising that Governments will not be prepared for the next wave of attacks unless they act quickly to safeguard internet use.
The next wave will undoubtedly come via information gleaned and transmitted from the ‘net.
If a boy in a bedroom can do it, surely high-tech criminals can.