UK wants to host international summit on cybersecurity

Hague offered to hold the event while speaking at a security conference in Germany.

He also revealed details of recent attacks on British government to illustrate the threat from cyber spying.

Last year, a malicious file posing as a report on a nuclear Trident missile was sent to a defense contractor by someone masquerading as an employee of another defense firm, reported news agency Reuters.

"The email was detected and blocked, but its purpose was undoubtedly to steal information relating to sensitive defense projects," Hague said.

A more structured dialogue across countries is needed to tackle security threats and build a consensus for a set of standards on how they should act in cyberspace, he said.

"The UK is prepared to host an international conference later this year to discuss norms of acceptable behavior in cyberspace," he added.

The rules should be based on respect for individual privacy, protection of intellectual property and a collective effort to tackle the threat from criminals acting online, he added.

Cybercrime has become one of the key issues for the UK government's IT strategy. In October Whitehall announced a plan to spend $1bn on a national cybersecurity program.

This story was first published by Computer Weekly

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