According to some experts, the MI5 attack perpetrated by a hacking group known as ‘Team Elite’ does not pose a threat to national security. The gang could have pilfered data from site visitors of MI5, and launched virus attacks to their computer systems. MP Patrick Mercer was quoted saying, "Having potentially highly classified information available to hackers is deeply concerning. The identity of agents and informers in terror groups such as Al Qaeda are held by MI5." Security firm Sophos assured that the hackers were not able to steal classified data that are stored on the back-office systems of MI5. Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley said, "Frankly, there's a lack of information in this report to let us know just how big a security problem this was. The good news is that the authorities claim to have fixed the flaw, so visitors to the site are no longer at risk.” "However, this is a timely reminder for all of us who have web sites - big and small - to make sure they are properly secured from attack."
