US urges shared cyberattack defense

The US and its Nato allies have been urged to collaborate more intensely to fend off the threat of cyberattacks in the aftermath of the alleged Chinese assault on Google.

The Pentagon's top cyber-strategist said shared warning systems had to be established and government contacts broadened. William J. Lynn, US deputy defence secretary, said America and the UK had been working to counter the growing international danger of cyberattacks. But he warned that the US, UK and other states had to deepen cross-border collaboration if they were to deal with a form of warfare that ignored national boundaries. "You can't just protect the system by defending yourself from inside your own country," Lynn said on a visit to London. "International co-operation is imperative for establishing the chain of events in an intrusion and quickly and decisively fighting back."