Experts at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also saw off fraudsters holding more than one million stolen credit cards. Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said the UK had become

“safer” since the off-shoot of GCHQ was created three years ago to tackle online threats. “Establishing the NCSC was a key part of this and has played a central role in tackling online

threats posed by criminals, hacktivists and hostile nation states,” he said. Over the last year, the centre defended the UK from 658 incidents and a “significant” number came from hostile

nations, which include Russia and China, according to its annual review. It was involved last year in an international expose of Russian military Intelligence GRU agent attacks on a range of

thousands of computers. Hospital trusts are being offered a new system to improve their online security, which will also make it easier to spot when a cyber attack is attempted, according to

the report. Major operations have also been carried out to stop criminals targeting lower level crimes. More than one million stolen credit cards were automatically flagged with fraud

alerts stopping hundreds of thousands of customers. The NCSC also revealed it has cracked down on hackers who managed to copy credit card transactions on Magento, a website that allows small

traders to set up online shops. More than 1,000 attacks that allow details to be skimmed have been tackled, according to the review. NCSC chief executive Ciaran Martin said: “This review

gives a real insight into the breadth of outstanding work done by the NCSC and underlines why we are a world leader in cyber security.  “From handling more than 600 incidents - many from

hostile nation states – to equipping the public with the tools they need to stay safe online, we are employing our expertise on a number of fronts.”