back to article UK.gov to spunk £2m a year policing global cyber-security

The UK will spend an extra £2m every year on improving international computer security defences, including a research centre for businesses and countries to tap into. A senior Foreign Office official said last night Blighty was focussed on helping enterprises overseas and nations to sort out their cyber-security. "This centre …

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  1. jake Silver badge

    Your tax money ...

    ... at work.

    Ask yourself "did I pay enough attention to vote?"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Stop

      Re: Your tax money ...

      Our pols have worked tirelessly for the benefit of anybody not in this country for many years, so no surprise in the wasting of tax money.

      What is surprising, given the persistent incompetence of the British government in all IT and communications matters, is why they think they have *any* qualifications to advise others on cyber security?

      1. Gr0nk

        Re: Your tax money ...

        I should say the point is softening up the average voter for the Interception Modernisation Whatever they're calling it now. When the average voter next hears about everything they do online being recorded and all of their email being read, by the State, they'll think it must be justified, because 'we' lead the world in cybersecurity.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Thumb Down

          Re: Your tax money ...@Gr0nk

          I'd say you're wrong. Not that your cynicism is misplaced, rather that you overlook that it doesn't matter what the voters think, because the control freaks of the Labour party always wanted to intercept everybody's communications and had a plan to do that, the Tories (once in government) have become similarly enthusiastic and merely resurrected the same scheme, so you won't be getting a choice at the next election, in the same way you didn't at previous ones.

          But nothing changes, in terms of them doing things you didn't vote for:

          Did we vote for war in Iraq?

          Did we vote to waste a billion quid on regional fire control centres that never worked?

          Did we vote for the most cack-handed defence review since the dawn of time?

          Did we vote to give £14 billion a year in foreign aid?

          Did we vote to hand British sovereignty to Brussels?

  2. ukgnome
    Joke

    Global?

    Damn, I was hoping for Robocop, or ED209 at the very least

  3. Wolfclaw
    Stop

    Not In My Name

    Dithery Dave spending my taxes elsewhere and not protecting the UK. Typical of this moron, has no idea on how to be an effective PM and constantly looking for ways to look good overseas with PR and spin. Tony Blair MK2.

  4. I think so I am?
    Paris Hilton

    The defisite

    how big would thy be if one did not giving so much UK tax money to those less and some time more well off than the'.

  5. Senior Ugli
    Unhappy

    "Blighty was focussed on helping enterprises overseas and nations to sort out their cyber-security."

    yeh lets help other countries first, dont spend money on our country. Thats always worked well hasnt it...

  6. H2Nick
    Unhappy

    £2m is a drop in the ocean compared with the £40m just wasted on the train fiasco.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2212069/West-Coast-Main-Line-Three-civil-servants-suspended-probe-Government-bungled-sums-begins.html

    Oh & the gov is probably still giving India £280m / year, effectively to help with their space program

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/feb/14/government-defends-1bn-aid-india

    £100m wasted on Aircraft carrier conversion

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9256977/Aircraft-carrier-omnishambles-wastes-100-million.html

    & you really dont want to even look at ther plans for spending billions on HS2

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/10/high-speed-rail-waste-money-hs2

    etc etc

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Flame

      @H2Nick

      You are completely correct and presumably in the interests of brevity overlooked the many other billions wasted on things that don't work or aren't needed, but that doesn't make wasting a further £2m acceptable.

      Oi! Cameron! You feckless twerp! Stop spending my money on CRAP!

  7. Risky
    Black Helicopters

    Not first time we tried to "help"

    IIrc after the war some refurbished Engima machines were distributed to Commonwealth countries and other allies for "secure" communications.....which we could then break into.

    1. Snapper
      Thumb Up

      Re: Not first time we tried to "help"

      Damn, you got there first!

  8. dephormation.org.uk
    Devil

    "helping enterprises overseas and nations to sort out their cyber-security"

    Continent isolated by fog?

    BT/Phorm. Vodafone/Bluecoat. TalkTalk/Huawei. Newscorp/Phone Hacking...

    As if the UK is any position to offer advice to any other country about 'sorting out' cyber-security.

    Our security services have failed over and over again to tackle cyber crime.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Sleeping Beauty Syndrome

    I must be suffering from it and have overslept by a few months. It's April the 1st already. The UK gov (lower case because that's all they are) is going to help others with 'cyber security'? If that isn't an example of the phrase, those who can do, those who can't teach, then I don't know what is.

    "academic centres of excellence"

    "Centres of excellence", it has to be one of the most cringeworthy titles ever dreamed up by corporate dullards. I hate it, hate it, hate it.....aaahhgg!

    That's better.

  10. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    Make a wrong move, and the cost will be two trillion .....

    ...and the rest, for that is the power of that you are facing and studiously, stupidly ignoring in mainstreamed media circles, as capital collapse and novel intellectual property revision and global power resource reallocation to more advanced and more equitable intelligence systems, grows ever more certain.

    Clueless governments certainly do not have their sorrows to seek as the HonourableMember ……. speaking truth unto nations on http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/oct/04/britain-cybersecurity-hotline-china-russia, quite early this morning [ 4 October 2012 6:36AM ] advises.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    re: UK.gov to spunk £2m a year policing global cyber-security

    Run your OS on a read-only device, use a central clearing house to distribute encryption keys, maintain an irrevocable audit trail - case closed ...

    --

    "The term Spunk may refer to: a colloquialism for seminal fluid"

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Start building prisons now

    The cyber criminals are years ahead of the law enforcement response. It's time to start building new prisons and start prosecuting all pirates, hackers and other cyber criminals. They need to be sent to prison for years.

  13. John A Blackley

    Funny

    The UK government. It's sponsoring a center to advise other governments on IT security. The UK government. Advising anyone on IT security.

    It is to laugh.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Interception

    It's not the Labour party that wants it

    It's not the Tories that wants it

    It's the Yanks that wants it

    That's why it never seems to die.

  15. JaitcH
    FAIL

    Open Sesame for GCHQ?

    Why would anyone trust a UK government agency? This sounds like another backdoor marked GCHQ.

    Funny how Cameron has all this money for foreign ventures yet he screams cut, cut, cut at home.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A little late

    Governments in all major countries should have started working on cyber security about 20 years ago. They are so far behind the crims they don't have a chance of slowing the crime rate for decades to come.

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