Children should be encouraged to cultivate digital skills, a former cyberespionage chief has argued Peter Byrne/PAParents should allow their children to spend more time online so that they can “save the country”, according to a former cyberespionage chief. Robert Hannigan, the former head of GCHQ, the government’s communications headquarters in Cheltenham, said that parents’ fears about youngsters spending too much time online were misplaced. Faced with a tech skills shortage, concern has been mounting among experts over the UK’s digital capabilities. Mr Hannigan said that children should be able to spend more time cultivating digital skills in order to respond to Britain’s future needs. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, he said: “If you are spending a disproportionate amount of your holiday unsuccessfully attempting to separate your children from wi-fi or their digital devices, do not despair.

Source: The Times August 07, 2017 23:48 UTC