YP Comment: The cyber-war must be won. Staying ahead of the hackers

Yet it’s not just about protecting the safety of Britons and the UK’s physical infrastructure. It’s also about safeguarding the digital network from those cyber-terrorists who disrupted, and compromised, the use of computers around the world last Friday.

Though the focus here has been on the NHS, and the potential repercussions for patients, global corporations found their businesses being brought to a standstill. Likening the incident to a Tomahawk missile being stolen, Microsoft’s president Brad Smith said this was a wake-up call for governments around the world as praise was heaped on the young IT expert from this country whose ingenuity has been credited with slowing the spread of this attack.

This is particularly pertinent here where Leeds-based NHS Digital says it passed key intelligence to individual health trusts last month while Jeremy Hunt, the embattled Health Secretary, dodged questions from reporters about whether he received any advanced warnings or not.

Computer networks are only as secure as their weakest link and the world’s ever increasing reliance on digital technology is likely to mean even greater inconvenience if and when the cyber-attackers next strike. As such, this issue is too important to be left to chance. From the NHS perspective, best practice needs to be shared as quickly and widely as possible – doctors and nurses can’t function without computers – and there must be no shortcuts over funding. From the country’s point of view, the UK’s economy security now depends on IT systems remaining ahead of hackers. This is the new front line.

Hull on the up

THAT employment levels in Hull are now at their highest since records began – 117,600 people are in work according to figures released last week – is indicative of the extent of East Yorkshire’s economic revival.

A proud city which was allowed to become a national symbol of decay and deprivation as traditional manufacturing industries ebbed away, it is now enjoying a resurgence after putting itself at the vanguard of the UK’s green energy revolution.

This has not happened overnight. It follows a concerted effort by the city’s political and business leaders to pull in the same direction – former deputy prime minister John Prescott never presented the most flattering image of Hull – and make a positive case for private sector employers to invest in East Yorkshire.

Having attracted Siemens, the significance of the proposed £200m Yorkshire Energy Park should not be under-estimated. On the eastern edge of the city, where job opportunities have previously been few and far between, the blue-chip companies looking to invest here are another vote of confidence in an area boosted still further by Hull’s year in the limelight as the UK City of Culture.

With every £1 invested in the proposed Energy Park likely to generate £3 for the local economy, Hull’s challenge now is to build on this momentum for the foreseeable future. It means redoubling existing efforts to improve the academic performance of schools while also making sure that road and rail links are commensurate with the ambitions of Hull, a city that is reinventing itself as a place where business and industry can thrive.

For your eyes only

THE extent to which new technology runs our lives is illustrated by comedian Chris Rock’s insistence that fans will be ejected from First Direct Arena, Leeds, if caught breaching a ban on the use of mobile phones, cameras and recording devices at his forthcoming show.

The funnyman knows this will lessen the likelihood of his original material appearing on YouTube, where it can then be plagiarised by others, but it’s no laughing matter for those whose entire lives appear to revolve around social media.

Yet they forget the etiquette of such events. They’re there to be enjoyed and the phone faux pas of the self-indulgent threatens to spoil the entertainment of those who want to savour the occasion. It can be done. There were no leaks of the dress rehearsal for the Olympic opening ceremony in 2012 because those present embraced the #SaveTheSurprise message. Perhaps this should form the basis of a new campaign: For your eyes only.