UK prepared to strike first cyber blow if needed, says Hague

The UK has developed new weapons to protect itself against online attacks and will not hesitate to strike first if needed, according to William Hague.

Speaking ahead of a conference on online crime and terrorist attacks, due to be held next month, the Foreign Secretary told The Sun newspaper that: "We will defend ourselves in every way we can, not only to deflect but to prevent attacks that we know are taking place."

The Government is currently ploughing an extra £650m into developing protection against online attacks that could be used to bring down the UK's vital infrastructure, including power plants, communications and rail networks and air traffic control systems.

Mr Hague was vague about what electronic weapons the UK is currently developing saying "The rest of the world will have to guess" but he went on to say that "given that the internet changes every day, and billions more people will have access to it over the coming years, the potential for that arms race to grow and go out of control is enormous."

Next month's conference, that will be held at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in London will involve more than 80 countries and major online companies. The aim is to draw up guidelines and rules that countries can use to protect themselves.

At the Conservative Party conference in October Mr Hague said: "I will host the first meeting of governments to address the challenges posed by cyber space to discuss protecting our citizens against cyber crime and cyber attack while ensuring that the internet remains open to all."