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Terrorists could use a “blended attack” to simultaneously hit physical targets and cyber systems during the London Olympic Games, a security expert has warned.

Cyber security expert professor Peter Sommer of the London School of Economics warned that computer security would be extremely important during the Games.

“There is what’s called a ‘blended attack’, so there is a physical attack but it’s made easier because someone is disrupting cyber systems at the same time, so that is the sort of scenario that people have got to worry about,” he said.

Cyber security attacks are just one of the issues the man in charge of Olympic Security, assistant commissioner Chris Allison of the Metropolitan Police will be looking at and investigating.

AC Allison is in charge of a £600m budget to tackle a vast range of traditional threats to the safety of the Olympic Games.

Our biggest threat is without doubt terrorism and (our job) is to make the venues secure so people can go there and have a good time

Assistant commissioner Chris Allison

His brief includes all the ordinary security concerns, such as terrorism and petty crime, but also the danger of online ticket scams, potential protesters hijacking Olympic websites and also the more sinister criminals.

Right now, Britain is thought to be fending off daily cyber attacks from foreign states and terrorists and police and experts believe London 2012 will be especially vulnerable.

AC Allison has just returned from the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, where he was embedded with Canadian Police to share intelligence and knowledge.

He hopes his experiences will help him control one of the biggest policing operations the country has ever seen. There will be between 8,000 and 9,000 officers on the streets of London on the busiest days. They will also need 6,500 special officers, up from the current 2,000.

AC Allison says that despite the huge challenges, his aim is to make sure they find the criminals now and ensure the Games go ahead as planned.

He said: “In Vancouver the opening ceremony was going to start dead on six-o-clock that particular evening and it started dead on six-o-clock. Our planning is all on the basis that this isn’t an event you can delay for a few hours.

“I think our biggest threat at the moment is without doubt the threat of terrorism and (our job) is to make the venues secure so people can go there and have a good time.”

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