UK Government Communications Headquarters head of the new unit said, Convicted computer hackers could be recruited to the UK's cyber defence force if they pass security vetting.
The recruitment would target regular personnel leaving the armed forces, current and former reservists with the required skills, and civilians with the appropriate technological knowledge.
The Joint Cyber Reserve Unit was announced by the government in September. Under the £500m initiative, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is set to recruit hundreds of reservists as computer experts to work alongside regular armed forces.
The unit will defend national security by safeguarding computer networks and vital data, and it will also launch strikes in cyberspace if necessary.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said that the armed forces do not have an absolute bar on people with criminal convictions and depending on individual applications, those convicted may also be employed, the report added. (ANI)
Mustafa al-Bassam, now a computer science student at King's College London, was the youngest hacker in the Lulzsec group - which recently targeted organisations such as the FBI in the US and Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) in a 50-day hacking campaign.
He told the BBC that revelations by former US contractor Edward Snowden about the extent of mass surveillance carried out by intelligence agencies - including the US' National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain's GCHQ - had dissuaded him from using his cyber skills to protect UK national security.
He said "I can understand the need for a government to protect itself, but when you go ahead and stomp on everyone's civil liberties - as we've seen with all the mass surveillance stories that have been out over the past year - I think you can rest assured that you're going to repel talented people,"
The recruitment would target regular personnel leaving the armed forces, current and former reservists with the required skills, and civilians with the appropriate technological knowledge.
The Joint Cyber Reserve Unit was announced by the government in September. Under the £500m initiative, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is set to recruit hundreds of reservists as computer experts to work alongside regular armed forces.
The unit will defend national security by safeguarding computer networks and vital data, and it will also launch strikes in cyberspace if necessary.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said that the armed forces do not have an absolute bar on people with criminal convictions and depending on individual applications, those convicted may also be employed, the report added. (ANI)
Mustafa al-Bassam, now a computer science student at King's College London, was the youngest hacker in the Lulzsec group - which recently targeted organisations such as the FBI in the US and Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) in a 50-day hacking campaign.
He told the BBC that revelations by former US contractor Edward Snowden about the extent of mass surveillance carried out by intelligence agencies - including the US' National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain's GCHQ - had dissuaded him from using his cyber skills to protect UK national security.
He said "I can understand the need for a government to protect itself, but when you go ahead and stomp on everyone's civil liberties - as we've seen with all the mass surveillance stories that have been out over the past year - I think you can rest assured that you're going to repel talented people,"
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