Category: Articles | Press Release

Crispin Blunt, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Counter Terrorism responds to ground breaking report from McAfee


McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE) today released its fifth annual McAfee Virtual Criminology Report, entitled: Virtually Here: The Age of Cyber Warfare. The report found that politically motivated cyber attacks have increased and five countries – the United States, Russia, France, Israel and China – are now armed with cyber weapons.

‘International cyber conflict has reached a tipping point where it is no longer just a theory but a significant threat’.

The report provides a model to define cyber war, identifies the countries involved in developing offensive and defensive cyber capabilities and analyses examples of politically-motivated cyber attacks. It also reveals how the private sector will get caught in a cyber crossfire. The report calls for an end to the secrecy that surrounds cyber conflict and for an open public debate on the issues involved as, without an open discussion among the government, private sector and the public, future cyber attacks targeting critical infrastructure could be devastating.

Responding to the report Crispin Blunt, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Counter Terrorism including responsibility for cyber security said:

‘McAfee’s report into the Age of Cyber Warfare is timely, raising the debate on an issue of ever growing importance to the security of the UK. I particularly welcome the debate about an international legal framework on the use of cyber weapons. We have seen an increase in the use of cyber warfare by states in recent years and are aware of the development of offensive cyber weapons capability by a growing number of states. This necessitates an urgent response from the international community, which must think through and set out the rules of the ‘game’ before it is too late. If the Conservative Party is elected to government next year we will ensure that the UK takes a lead on this’.

. Crispin Blunt is currently in Washington to discuss possibilities for an international legal framework on cyber warfare with US policy makers and academics. Amongst others he will meet White House and State Department officials and James Lewis the Director of the CSIS report ‘Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency’.
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