The Latest in IT Security

By Huw Jones and Steve Slater LONDON (Reuters) – Thousands of staff across dozens of London financial firms will be put through a “war games” scenario on Tuesday to test how well they can handle a major cyber attack, people familiar with the matter said. It will be co-ordinated from a single room housing regulators, government officials and staff from banks and other financial firms, people familiar with the matter said. Regulators and firms are growing increasingly concerned about the threat of cyber crime to the banking system, including the impact of coordinated online assaults or hacking attacks on specific banks and the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee has already told banks to strengthen defenses. British police arrested eight people in September after a cyber attack on the computer system of a branch of Barclays, just a week after 12 men were arrested for allegedly planning to steal millions of pounds from a Santander UK branch with a similar remote device.