Fresh spate of cyberattacks threatening national security, warns security chief

Britain has faced 188 high-level cyberattacks in the last three months, with attempts by Russian and Chinese state-sponsored hackers currently under investigation, says a leading security chief.

Ciaran Martin, who is the chief executive of the new National Cyber Security Centre opening in February 2017, said "many" of the attacks "threatened national security".

Hackers are said to be "getting into the system to extract information on UK government policy on anything from energy to diplomacy to information on a particular sector", said Martin in a Sunday Times report.

A surge in attacks from Russia has also been noted by the security boss.

"Over the last two years there has been a step change in Russian aggression in cyberspace," he said.

"Part of that step change has been a series of attacks on political institutions, political parties, parliamentary organisations, and that's all very well evidenced by our international partners and widely accepted."

Chancellor Philip Hammond has also warned that household items such as like fridges, kettles and automatic cars at risk of attack in an article for The Telegraph.

Hammond, also the UK's former defence secretary, said that "the internet revolution", warning that "criminals, foreign states and hacktivists can pose a danger to all aspects of our society".

The MP also said that in the last six months, the National Cyber Security Centre has managed to block 34,550 potential attacks on UK government departments and services.

In a bid to equip future generations with the skills to fight these attacks, a group of UK school pupils aged 14 and over will be educated on cybersecurity for four hours a week in a five-year pilot.

The 5,700 students will be taught how to face "real-world challenges", and will undertake work experience in the field in response to the UK's IT skills shortage, said the BBC.

Bank account fraud is the most common cybercrime in the UK, with 2,356,000 attempts being made in the UK in 2016.

Hacking makes for fourth place in the stats, with 681,000 attacks recorded in the country.