Posted by Paul Davis

The UK is under threat from an “astonishing” level of cyber attacks, the head of MI5 has revealed.

Speaking in a lecture in London earlier this week, Jonathan Evans said it is not just criminals who are threatening the nation, but the governments of other countries.

The director general of the Security Service went on to suggest that the modern world’s reliance on the internet has not only put government secrets at risk, but businesses and academic institutions too.

“[It] increases the potential for mischief and leads to risks of real-world damage as well as information loss,” he said.

Mr Evans warned that hackers have the potential to exert a negative influence on the UK’s future prosperity.

This was the first time Mr Evans had given a speech in public in almost two years.

Earlier this week, Ryan Cleary, 20, and Jake Davis, 19, admitted to being behind cyber attacks against the CIA, the NHS and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.