Spies at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) has issued a warning and called an emergency meeting of all the leaders of Britain’s political parties against the hacking threats from Russia.
According to the Security sources, GCHQ has main priority to protect the political system from foreign hackers. An emergency summit has been called to educate politicians on the cyber-security and hacking after there were reports that Kremlin-backed hackers could try to tamper with elections.
The Sunday Times reports, Ciaran Martin, chief executive of GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), has sent a letter to leaders of the main political parties to assist them how to withstand attacks.
He wrote: “You will be aware of the coverage of events in the United States, Germany and elsewhere reminding us of the potential for hostile action against the UK political system.
“This is not just about the network security of political parties’ own systems. Attacks against our democratic processes go beyond this and can include attacks on Parliament, constituency offices, think tanks and pressure groups and individuals' email accounts.”
A senior government officer told the paper that they would help every individual politician to improve their security of “personal data sets, including the electoral role and voter identification data”.
According to the Security sources, GCHQ has main priority to protect the political system from foreign hackers. An emergency summit has been called to educate politicians on the cyber-security and hacking after there were reports that Kremlin-backed hackers could try to tamper with elections.
The Sunday Times reports, Ciaran Martin, chief executive of GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), has sent a letter to leaders of the main political parties to assist them how to withstand attacks.
He wrote: “You will be aware of the coverage of events in the United States, Germany and elsewhere reminding us of the potential for hostile action against the UK political system.
“This is not just about the network security of political parties’ own systems. Attacks against our democratic processes go beyond this and can include attacks on Parliament, constituency offices, think tanks and pressure groups and individuals' email accounts.”
A senior government officer told the paper that they would help every individual politician to improve their security of “personal data sets, including the electoral role and voter identification data”.