Britain's government says a new research institute, partly funded by the country's eavesdropping spy agency, will ask mathematicians and computer scientists to join the fight against cyber threats.

The Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ — Britain's equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency — says that a new 3.8-million-pound ($6.1-million) program will fund a research institute at Univ. College London.

Science minister David Willetts says academics would work with government experts and businesses to tackle emerging problems in the cyber arena.

Last week, Iain Lobban, head of GCHQ warned that businesses face "credible threats to cybersecurity of an unprecedented scale, diversity and complexity."

He says major companies, defense contractors and government departments have all been the victims of successful cyberattacks.