At the beginning of February, the UK government merged the operations of the National Security Advice Centre (NASC) and the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC), to form the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI).
According to a press report in a national UK Sunday newspaper, the merger was precipitated by the discovery of a planned attack on the UK's internet hub' in London Docklands.
The Sunday Times article (11 March), states that a series of raids by Scotland Yard detectives have led to a number of arrests following the discovery of computer evidence revealing al-Qaeda planned to bring down the Internet network in Britain.
The hub, the headquarters of Telehouse Europe, covers 13,000 square meters in London Docklands, and channels traffic from multiple UK, European and international carriers. The press report states that according to a senior UK government security official the Internet plotters appeared to be planning to infiltrate the "hub, possibly to blow it up from the inside, according to evidence on a computer hard drive seized in raids on the homes of terror suspects in southern England last year.
"The Telehouse facility was the subject of intense reconnaissance. The evidence suggests that it was one of a range of options considered by the suspects, the official said.
A statement released by Telehouse Europe, whilst not disclosing precise details of the threat, offers its customers confidence in its security arrangements.
"Major co-location companies such as Telehouse are strategically important organisations at the heart of the internet, with data centers facilitating many thousands of other businesses' IT and communications needs. Security and business continuity are critically important. Our industry remains as alert as possible to any threat, terrorist or otherwise, and we are in regular communications with the appropriate authorities. The climate since 9/11 required a heightened state of alert. In 2007, we remain in this heightened state of awareness to any such security threats and are in regular dialogue with the authorities. Throughout all our data centers we continuously review all security measures to minimise any potential risk to the safety of our people and security of our customers' business systems and communications.