“Just as you cannot make a market case for the cold war, the IT industry cannot spend substantial amounts to mitigate a small internet risk,” he said, calling on governments to stop delegating responsibility to the IT industry and to join with it in a concerted security effort.

UK IT leaders echoed his call. Guy Hains, head of government business at CSC UK, said the internet was becoming as critical to the national infrastructure as banking and transport. “Government has an essential role in establishing national regulation to enable provision of a secure infrastructure, and ensure that the benefits of the internet are not hijacked by criminal or malicious activity,” he said.

Ian Smith, UK managing director at Oracle, said, “The government needs to allay the fears of citizens and SMEs, while creating an environment where debate is encouraged.”

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