Is cyber security a government priority?

Today, IDC has claimed more than 50 per cent of surveyed government organisations across Europe have no official plans for protecting data from information security threats.

In a study conducted by IDC Government Insights, less than half of the respondents’ organizations were found to have any official strategy in place at all.

Drilling down into the research, the study does appear to be chiefly concerned with European and Russian healthcare organizations – but it does paint a stark picture of public sector attitudes towards cyber attacks.

The central UK government can claim to be one such organisations taking cyber-attacks seriously, at least on the surface. It has a dedicated Cyber Security Minister position, very recently taken over by Francis Maude, and a new National Cyber Security Programme, which apparently has £650 million to play with over the next four years. This week it also launched the Cyber Security Challenge to seek out and promote talent in the field.

Across the Atlantic meanwhile, the United States is set to publish plans that would categorise cyber attacks as acts of war, allowing its Government to unleash economic sanctions, cyber retaliation, or to leverage its formidable armed forces to strike back at those who hack key US computer systems.

Is there enough being done tangibly by governments and public sector organisations to protect our data? Is involving the military a good idea? Do you think those in UK Parliament understand the issues involved to their full extent? Should the technology industry be playing a bigger role?

Let us know your thoughts.