British university experts are being recruited into a network run by GCHQ - the country's secret eavesdropping organisation - to combat new waves of cyber attacks.
The UK has been subjected to millions of cyber attacks in the past two years.
These range from routine low-level criminal attacks on individuals, usually involving the theft of credit card details, through to state-sponsored espionage.
The Government has launched its Cyber Security Strategy and part of it will include the harnessing of academic brain power to fight off cyber security breaches.
It will also look to build the national capability to recover after a successful attack.
There will also be plans to establish close links to experts in private companies and to recruit 'cyber-special' constables - volunteer experts who can give their free time to helping the regular police battle cyber crime.
The Government is subjected to more than 1,000 targeted cyber attacks and 20,000 more general attacks every week.
But, at the moment, experts say Britain's defences are low, and in some cases non-existent, in some areas of the critical national infrastructure - which means power generation, transport, hospital management
and other vital elements of maintaining economic activity and social cohesion.
Professor Tim Watson, head of cyber security at De Montfort University, said: 'It is not a question of planning for 'if' there is a successful attack, but for 'when'.
'That way we can be sure of bouncing back and recovering from an attack that could cripple a system very quickly.'
Dons at De Montfort, the universities of Glamorgan and Lancaster, and the Royal Holloway College, have been approached by GCHQ for help.
They will be asked to help solve operational problems - such as how to stop an attack before it is triggered - and also to offer long-term strategic analysis.
'We need to assemble experts from every walk of academic life, linguistics experts, IT specialists, anyone who can give us the edge,' Prof Watson added.
The evolution of the Government's cyber strategy follows a sudden realisation in the West that many of the systems the economy relies on are old Windows-based computer structures with low security settings
controlling complex industrial processes. This makes them vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
Professor Andrew Blyth, from Glamorgan University's computer department, said: 'You don't need fissile material to cause a massive disaster if you are a terrorist, just a laptop and an internet connection.
'The barriers to entry for criminals and terrorists are very low.'
In 2010, Iran's nuclear programme was set back by the Stuxnet malware, which wrecked some of its uranium enriching systems.
In October, cyber security experts discovered malware similar to Stuxnet, and sharing some of its original code, has infected industrial processes in Iran and elsewhere in Europe - possibly to gather intelligence for
a future targeted cyber attack.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude told Sky News the hubs would foster greater co-operation between the public and private sectors and enable them to share information about cyber attacks.
'We want Britain to be a great place to do internet business, both with lots of opportunity but also the best levels of security that we can manage,' he said.
Steps You Can Take To Protect Your Computer:
Protecting your computer...
1. Install anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and turning on your firewall
2. Update your operating system
3. Use up-to-date applications, such as your web browser or word processing package
4. Encrypt your wireless network
5. Block spam emails
Staying safe online...
1. Use strong passwords
2. Do not give away too much personal information on blogs and social networking sites
3. Activate privacy settings on social networking sites
4. Do not opening email attachments from people you do not know
