Cyber centre foils over one million credit card fraud attacks

Cyber security experts tackled more than one million cases of suspected credit card fraud in the last year, data from the Government’s National Cyber Security Centre shows.

The figures are contained in the NCSC’s third Annual Review, which also sets out the various ways the organisation has been protecting the public. This includes a pioneering operation to stop hundreds of thousands of people losing money to credit card fraud.

Over the period of the review the NCSC has dealt with 658 incidents, which brings the total number to almost 1,800 since the Centre’s formation in 2016. A significant number of incidents continue to come from hostile nation states.

In the most wide-ranging review yet produced by the NCSC, which is a part of GCHQ, significant disclosures include:

• The pioneering Operation Haulster, which automatically flagged fraudulent intention against more than one million stolen credit cards, as a result protecting hundreds of thousands of people from financial loss
• A machine to improve the efficiency of information sharing around threats to the UK – speeding up the process from a matter of hours to just seconds
• A breakdown for the first time of the sectors which are given the most support from the NCSC’s Incident Management team, with government heading the list, followed by academia, IT, managed service providers and – in joint fifth – health and transport

Minister for the Cabinet Office Oliver Dowden said: “We’ve made great progress on making the UK safer since launching our world-leading £1.9 billion cyber security strategy in 2015. Establishing the NCSC was a key part of this and has played a central role in tackling online threats posed by criminals, hacktivists and hostile nation states.”

“As the Cabinet Office Minister responsible for resilience against cyber attacks and protecting our critical national infrastructure, I very much welcome the achievements laid out in this Annual Review which shows that we are making the UK a more challenging place for our cyber adversaries to operate in.”

NCSC Chief Executive Ciaran Martin said “This review gives a real insight into the breadth of outstanding work done by the NCSC and underlines why we are a world leader in cyber security.”

“From handling more than 600 incidents – many from hostile nation states – to equipping the public with the tools they need to stay safe online, we are employing our expertise on a number of fronts.”

“I am proud to lead this organisation and optimistic that, in a constantly evolving landscape, we can help make this the safest country to live and work online.”