TYRIE: GCHQ NEEDS TO DO MORE TO PROTECT UK FROM CYBERATTACKS

Endrew Tyries MP
The head of the Treasure select committee.

More action may be needed to protect the financial services industry from a devastating cyber-attack, the head of the Treasure select committee has suggested.

Andrew Tyrie MP wrote to Ciaran Martin, head of the new cybersecurity centre of UK surveillance agency GCHQ, saying the lines of responsibility and accountability for reducing cyber-threats are opaque.

Tyrie’s letter to Martin, who is leading the Cheltenham-based National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), uses last month’s incident at Tesco Bank to illustrate the vulnerabilities of the financial system.

In November, the banking arm of supermarket chain Tesco admitted that £2.5m had been stolen from 9,000 accounts in an incident which raised fresh concerns about the methods used by financial services firms to detect cyber-attacks.

Two-thirds of all major UK companies – not just financial services firms – have reported security breaches in the last year. The Bank of England has also listed the threat of cyber-attacks as one of the major risks facing the financial services industry.

Ciaran Martin
The head of GCHQ’s new cybersecurity arm

In his letter Tyrie, a Conservative MP, outlines the responsibility for cyber-threats as being shared between the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the Financial Conduct Authority and GCHQ. In turn, the regulatory arms are responsible to the Treasury, while GCHQ reports through the foreign secretary.

In light of this, Tyrie said: “It is for consideration whether a single point of responsibility for cyber risk in the financial services sector, with full ownership of – and accountability for – financial cyber-threats is now required. It may be necessary to create a line of accountability to the Treasury for financial cybercrime.”

Tyrie also asks Martin for clarity on the objectives of NCSC, which was set up two months ago to take charge of the UK’s defences against cyber-offences.

“Legacy systems, human error and deliberate attack have resulted in unacceptable interruptions to vital banking services and weakened the public’s confidence in the banking system as a whole. The recent attack on Tesco Bank is only the latest example of criminals exploiting vulnerabilities in the banking industry’s IT systems,” said Tyrie.

A spokesman for the NCSC said: “We have received this letter and there will be a government response in the New Year.”

The parliamentary committee has been asking questions about the need for a clearer command structure to tackle cyber-attacks during its evidence sessions. Last week, Sam Woods, the Bank’s deputy governor who runs PRA, was asked his views on the need for a single point of contact.

Woods replied it was important to know which body was in charge of each incident rather than have the same point of contact.

“It is essential that the intelligence community gives the regulators the technical and practical support they need to do their job. This means making sure that financial cybercrime has a high priority, and is not subordinate to other work,” said Tyrie.

“Certainly, as millions of customers are exposed to the risks of cybercrime, a higher level of scrutiny and accountability for existing arrangements is needed,” he added.