Blog

Government spy agencies MI5 and GCHQ have sent a letter to the chairs of all the FTSE 350 companies in Britain, offering to conduct an assessment of their cyber defences.

The letter – which is signed by MI5 director general Andrew Parker, GCHQ director Iain Lobban and Universities Minister David Willetts – states that cyber attacks against UK companies are already causing significant damage to their reputations and revenues.

This new initiative, known as the “Cyber Governance Health Check”, will build on the government’s existing Cyber Security Strategy, which aims to tackle the growing danger of cyber attacks and make the UK one of the safest places in the world to do business.

Each company that agrees to participate in the initiative will be able to view the conclusions and compare their results againt those of their peers, helping to inform subsequent vulnerability discussions between the company and its external auditor.

The government hopes that this will better enable FTSE 350 companies to understand and manage risks that have the potential to cause major damage to their businesses.

“As you will appreciate, cyber security is vital for your business and for the country as a whole. The cyber threat is diverse and continues to grow, from those looking to seize commercial advantage and intellectual property to those looking to destroy critical data and undermine the integrity of systems,” the letter states.

“We very much hope to secure your support for the Cyber Governance Health Check which we believe will be of real benefit both to your company and broader UK interests.”

The news follows a report published by KPMG, which revealed that all of the FTSE 350 are leaking data that can be used by cyber attackers to gain control of their intellectual property, perpetrate fraud and inflict reputational damage.

Martin Jordan, head of cyber response at KPMG, said that the failure of FTSE 350 companies to protect their networks does not only put the company itself at risk but also the economy and, in the case of critical national infrastructures, the entire population.