BT networks hit by billions of cyber security alerts every month

BT: The firm's networks are facing constant threats
AFP/Getty Images

Cyber-criminals controlling vast numbers of bots are causing billions of alerts on BT networks every month, its head of security has revealed.

Many of these attempts to steal cash or information, or crash systems, can be traced back to Russia and China, with British broadband users and even BT’s Champions League coverage being targeted, Mark Hughes said.

The president of BT Security told the Standard: “As our automated defences get better our adversaries are getting better. They are using ever more sophisticated, almost multi-pronged attempts, which is why we’re seeing a big uptick in things like email phishing.”

The toughest attacks to beat are “zero-day exploits”, with names such as Heartbleed, Shellshock, Ghost and Drown.

These target unknown vulnerabilities in software or hardware, inside which a hacker releases malicious code. To counter threats, BT has 3,000 analysts — many of them teenagers and reformed hackers — managed from its security HQ in Sevenoaks. Mr Hughes described them as “ethical hackers”.

The firm would not say how many attacks had succeeded but networks receive more than 200 billion security alerts every month, about 17,000 of which are classified as “aggressive”.

During the 2012 Olympics BT saw a 1,000 per cent rise in attacks from state-backed hackers, terrorists, fraudsters and “hacktivists”.

Mr Hughes said it frustrated him that users still choose easy passwords for multiple devices.

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