A newly created cyber security centre in the UK will initially work with the Bank of England to set standards for the financial sector to prevent cyberattacks.
The UK government has named the dedicated centre for cyber security as the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The idea to create such centre was announced by Chancellor George Osborne in November last year.
Ciaran Martin, currently director general cyber at GCHQ will head the centre, while Dr Ian Levy, currently technical director of Cyber Security at GCHQ, will join the organisation as technical director.
Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Matthew Hancock said: "In establishing the National Cyber Security Centre we are creating a body devoted to cyber security and this will transform the UK’s approach to an issue that affects us all.
"This important work with the Bank of England is paramount to ensuring that businesses of all shapes and sizes understand the threats and what they can do to mitigate them.
"We’ll do this by informing the entire business community and public sector about emerging threats, providing support when attacks happen and educating everyone on how best to stay safe online."
Cyber attacks from state backed hackers, serious crime gangs, hacking groups as well as terrorists are on the rise in the UK.
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The NCSC will work to ensure that the people, public and private sector organisations and the critical national infrastructure in the country are safer online.
The creation of the centre is aimed at bringing the UK’s cyber expertise together to transform how the country tackles cyber security issues.
GCHQ director Robert Hannigan said: "Given the industrial-scale theft of intellectual property from our companies and universities, as well as the numerous phishing and malware scams that waste time and money, the National Cyber Security Centre shows that the UK is focusing its efforts to combat the threats that exist online.
"Ciaran will be an excellent Chief Executive who will ensure that the NCSC will continue the outstanding work done by all of the existing organisations to protect national security and our economic success."
NCSC is designed to address the issues related to GCHQ as a lead cyber security agency. With GCHQ being a secret intelligence agency, accessibility has been a problem apart from an absence of wide sharing of information.
The new centre will overcome such issues by having a presence in both the confidential and public areas.
While some industries have taken steps to prevent cyberattacks, there are many industries that can be vulnerable to such talks.
TalkTalk lost over 100,000 of its subscribers after the company witnessed hacking of personal details of its customers. The attack is estimated to cost £60m for the company.
Hacking has become a serious issue for companies having heavy amount of customer data, as cyberattacks are expected to touch a new high this year.
