Anti-hacker CERT-UK opens for business

Anti-hacker CERT-UK opens for business: The UK’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-UK) has opened for business, marking the latest step in the government’s ongoing effort to bolster the nation’s cyber defences.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude opened the CERT-UK at a private press event, promising it will aid both the public and private sectors’ cyber defence efforts in a variety of ways.
“At the sharp end, the CERT will take the lead in co-ordinating the management of national cyber-security incidents. One area where it will play a particularly important role is in providing support to our Critical National Infrastructure companies,” he said.

“CERT-UK will provide an authoritative voice to those agencies and organisations that are helping the UK to become more resilient and to prosper in the internet age. It will also share information with companies to promote situational awareness and effective mitigation of threats.”

Maude added that the cyber-defence team has a proactive international role and will work closely with foreign CERT teams to help spot and share information about emerging threats.

“CERT-UK will be the single point of contact for our international partners for CERT-to-CERT engagement, an increasingly important area of dialogue. It will manage incidents that cross national borders and it will share information that promotes situational awareness and effective mitigation of threats,” he said.