Britain fears terrorists hiding in the cloud

Britain was struggling to keep up with terrorists who were using cloud computing to plan attacks and stay undetected, its Home Secretary has warned.

Theresa May made the claim while she outlined the British Government’s updated counterterrorism strategy, CONTEST.

Cloud computing that allowed programs and data to run in data centres anywhere in the world and be consumed on mobile devices was a technology being turned to evil ends, she said.

“Cloud computing offers new means for storing, sharing and distributing material online," May said.

"It can be encrypted and configured to work with mobile devices, leaving little or no trace of the data behind."

Cloud providers such as Google were also unwittingly helping terrorists, she said.

“Terrorists are increasingly using online technology, including Google Earth and Street View for attack planning," she said.

"Ahead of its attempted aviation attacks, [Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula] used commercial systems to allow air mail to be tracked in real time.

"We can speculate that this was to detonate a device over a particular city, to maximise casualties or perhaps over a particular country to maximise the political fallout.”

May said extremists could use peer-to-peer networks to “distribute files and information rapidly and securely”.

And software to encrypt mobile calls and texts was widely available and improving, she said.

“To tackle these new and emerging threats our own technology must constantly evolve and adapt. That’s why we are investing in new systems and new capabilities.

“Our communications capabilities development program will ensure that our investigative capabilities are maintained in the face of rapid changes in digital technology.

"Legislation will be brought forward to put in place the necessary regulations and safeguards to ensure that the response to this technological challenge is both proportionate and appropriate.”

The updated CONTEST strategy tried to strengthen border security using technology such as that involved in e-Borders.

The British Government will announce its updated cloud-computing strategy before September.

Earlier this week, Britain's terror threat level was cut from “severe” to “substantial”.

This article originally appeared at itpro.co.uk