UK gov't targets cyber terror

The British Government has called for international co-operation to help beat cyber terrorism. Margaret Beckett, Leader of the House of Commons and Cabinet Minister, said that infrastructure protection -- keeping the country's phones, power, financial and transport systems safe from hackers -- was the new challenge for the Millennium. Speaking at a conference yesterday she said the lessons learnt from tackling the Y2K problem should be employed to combat a "new type of cyber threat". "In the Millennium Bug work we saw unprecedented international co-operation to solve a common problem," said Beckett. "Countries were naturally rather sensitive to the specifics of their own national situation and vulnerabilities. But this did not prevent a free exchange of information both about potential problems before they arose, and about actual incidents over the year end period. "The Government hopes that that this very positive experience of international co-operation can itself be a model for dealing with malicious computer attack -- whether through using and developing existing bilateral relationships, or bodies such as the High Tech Crime Group of the G8," she said. Last month US President Bill Clinton said he would seek $91 million to help combat cyber terrorism. ® Related stories: Clinton's Big Plan against cyberterror FBI wants to snoop on private networks