UK launches cyber response team to defend against cyberattacks

Launched today, the UK Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-UK) will help the British government coordinate against sophisticated cyberattacks, and respond to any cybersecurity issues that target the country's infrastructure.

The CERT team stemmed from a National Cyber Security Strategy meeting hosted in 2012, in which other nations discussed their programs - or intention to open a national cybersecurity team - and has grown from there.

"The cyber hacker needs to succeed only once, but those protecting us must be successful all the time; around the clock, day after day, week after week," said Francis Maude, Cabinet Officer Minister, when announcing the program. "And of course, nothing in the digital world ever stands still. It's forensic and painstaking work and it's absolutely relentless. I have a very high level of confidence that we can achieve this."

Furthermore, Maude said 93 percent of large corporations suffered at least one cyber breach during the past 12 months, with companies suffering $750,000-$1.4M on average.