UK doesn't have the SKILLS to save itself from cyber threats

We do have the skills

Just not the people working in the I.T. sector - presumably because the jobs have been outsourced as part of the governments ham fisted handling of the economy.

"...taking evidence from homeopaths"

Isn't that what the current Health Secretary DOES think we should be doing?

New headline

- UK Gov doesn't want to pay for skills to save itself from cyber threats -

I have an idea

When such a thing happens, and the red states are hacking our asses off (figuratively) why not put out a cable asking all skilled workers to volunteer their skills in thwarting the nefarious cyber crims?

Oh hang on, that was actually a dream that I had, I got enlisted to make the coffee.

Still, Hollywood? BBC? anyone wanna fund this film?

The problem's already been solved.

You asshats seem to have conveniently forgotten that a remedy has already been chosen and implemented! The UK has decided to ration electricity and de-industrialize so very soon the only network you people are going to use is sneaker net - and they won't be Nikes either because anyone who will be able to afford a pair of Nike running shoes will be running like hell to get the fuck out of UK as it finally takes its place among the poorest nations of the world.

A computer can't be hacked if there's no electricity to run it.

Problem solved!

Good work, mates! Long live Soviet England!

The real problem is a shortage of employers willing to employ people who require an hour or so to get up to speed with the new job. If you aren't already doing a job that's exactly 100% identical to the advertised job, you're worse than scum.

There are plenty of well-skilled cyber-security people in this country. You know who they are working for though? Private companies..

That's because they pay them a decent wage, unlike the government that was wanting to pay less than what you could get in IT support for a job in London...

Anybody remember that "hacking challenge" that was so abismal the answers were available online in a few hours...

I'm obviously doing security for the wrong private company :(

Doesn't matter

Because we don't have aircraft carriers with aircraft for another decade or two and we've only got about 80,000 troops who are actually not here at the moment.

They'd not need to cyber attack - they could just walk right in and take what they want. Most probably the only official opposition would be some guy from Group4 security on minimum wage (if that).

Pure garbage

I heard a chap talking about this on the BBc yesterday. The way it was described you would think that this field would now pay better than the banking sector in the good days. Double pay should be easy right?

Show me the money.

Quizzing the System to Identify its Present Failed Protectors .... Suited Crooks and Useless Spooks

There certainly are those with the not inconsiderable skills to secure and protect the UK in and from attacks launched from the CyberSpace sector, but the Catch 22 situation which they will always invariably find themselves in, in the beginning of their deliberations and communications, is that the necessary intelligence to understand what is missing in defences, is missing in those to whom they may have been talking or making initial contact about that which be missing, and exposing systemic vulnerabilities for exploitation with ruthless abandon, should the desire to be so cavalier, surface and be considered extremely attractive.

Eventually, and that can come surprisingly quickly, may it be necessary for one to consider a live demonstration/leak of sensitive and destructive source code of a particularly peculiar and pernicious flaw in a global operating system of command and control to engage with enemy troops/elitist establishment troupers ….. and whenever of great value and overwhelming worth, would that most probably result in a truly fantastic and excessively generous paper bounty for consideration as either payment in the one extreme case or delivered as danegeld in the other.

And to not imagine in this zeroday and virtual age, that so much real damage can be done by so little with virtual control of renegade memes, and it not be worth a packet, is to be part of the problem which has the wealthiest and supposedly most sophisticated of nations at the mercy of those and/or that which they would be paying/investing billions in, to protect them from their ignorance in a novel and highly disruptive and lucrative field of opportunity and endeavour ….. fabless discovery.

After all, nowadays, what's a billion or two, whenever you own a printer or three?

As an exercise here on El Reg, whom and/or what and where would commentators imagine be the leading point of contact to engage with, in the UKGBNI, with regard to securing the virtual intelligence and sensitive information space place. Who and or what decides on what is required and what is to be paid to whom for what and why?

Not such an easy task whenever everyone hides in the shadows and seeks to avoid accountability and responsibility for failure.

And that is as much as I wish to say, today, on the matter. Have a nice one, y'all.

Need to Know Rules the Cyber Roost

And this is a reality to consider is valid and would further add to the confusion and opportunity generated in the field, and would fully justify its magic fantastic worth in its knowledge being kept secret and unknown, as per any payment in a danegeld arrangement.

One cannot defend against anything whenever one doesn't understand the method of attack, therefore, the only defenders worth a jot are those who can mount a successful assault, and whenever one is able to mount a series of those, remotely and relatively anonymously from virtual space, there is a duty of care to ensure that sensitive information shared regarding such matters as can be easily catastrophic, are shared with the right class of responsible being, fully cognizant of the likely punitive consequences of unauthorised disclosure, for the rest of one's natural, to other beings/nations/businesses/whatever.

Step into that world of crazy worlds, only if you really know what you are doing and what everyone else in those worlds can do, for anything less will have you vulnerable to exploitation and defeat at any time of someone else's choosing.

chickens come home for roosting

Sorry this needs to be pointed out - wasn't it a few years ago there were threats made that any person in the uk found attempting to use tools such as port scanners etc - would be locked up ?

I mean you can not tell people not to do something then a few years later turn around and say we don't have any one with skills that can do such things....

Middle management will be able to hold meetings and discuss the way forward