Report of the Independent Surveillance Review
7
simpler and more secure’.13 The Government Digital Service platform for services, the
gov.uk site, received 2 billion visits in its first two years.14 The Verify scheme, a product of
the Government Digital Service, is also now in place. The service allows people to verify
their identity online by allowing users to register securely using one login that connects
and securely stores their personal data.15
1.8
While the trend suggests that more services will be put online, evidence points
to the vulnerability of governments that are heavily dependent on Internet-based
services. For example, Estonia has developed an extensive Internet infrastructure and
has moved to make almost all government services online – including online voting,
medical prescriptions and parking tickets. Yet in May 2007, Estonia was the target of a
sustained DDoS attack, which brought down government websites, media and financial
institutions for three weeks. In addition to land, sea, air and space, cyberspace is now
being considered as a possible ‘fifth domain’ of modern warfare, and Internet-enabled
actions are increasingly recognised as a possible form of hostile state action.16
1.9
Citizens, companies and governments have eagerly taken advantage of the immense
opportunities the Internet has created but remain ‘uncertain about its longer term
effects and implications’.17 The Internet was never designed to be secure, and the way
that it has evolved creates systemic vulnerabilities that can be exploited by criminals and
those who wish to do harm.
1.10
The pace of change is also a challenge for those who are responsible for policy, legislation
and regulation. Many of the individuals and organisations that provided the ISR Panel with
evidence highlighted the lack of technical expertise in senior positions in government.
The journalist and author Misha Glenny makes a useful analogy in his book DarkMarket:
as is the case with motor cars, we now find ourselves in a situation where only a handful
of people have a significant understanding of the Internet and how it functions, compared
to the billions of people who use it regularly. It is important for both individuals to
have this understanding (to protect personal data and reduce vulnerabilities) as well as
government officials (to implement appropriate laws and regulations).
Digital Britain
1.11
The British population remain largely unaware of the complex global infrastructure that
supports the Internet. Not only is this infrastructure largely invisible, but it is notoriously
13. Cabinet Office and Government Digital Service, ‘Digital Efficiency Report’, Research and
Analysis, 2012.
14. Government Digital Service and Cabinet Office, ‘About the Government Digital Service’,
Blog, <https://gds.blog.gov.uk/about/>.
15. Cabinet Office and Government Digital Service, ‘Introducing GOV.UK Verify’, Guidance, 17
June 2015.
16. NATO, ‘Wales Summit Declaration’, Press Release (2014) 120, 5 September 2014.
17. Tim Stevens, ‘A Cyberwar of Ideas? Deterrence and Norms in Cyberspace’, Contemporary
Security Policy (Vol. 33, No. 1, April 2012), pp. 148–70.