Serious Threats To Britain's Critical Infrastructure

Uploaded on 2023-11-21 in TECHNOLOGY--Resilience, GOVERNMENT-National, FREE TO VIEW

The new Annual Review from National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warns of the threats posed by nation-state threat groups from Russia, China and Iran.

In particular. the NCSC says that the threat to the nation’s most critical infrastructure is ‘enduring and significant’, with increasingly aggressive cyber activity, and numerous geopolitical challenges.

The report warns that Britain needs to speed up its efforts in addressing evolving threat to the resilience of the nation’s most sensitive sectors. These sectors include those that supply water, electricity, communications, transport, financial networks, and internet connectivity.

Over the previous 12 months the NCSC has observed the emergence of a new class of cyber adversary in the form of state-aligned actors, who are “often sympathetic to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine and are ideologically, rather than financially, motivated” says NCSC’s Director, Lindy Cameron.

In May this year, the NCSC explained information about Snake Malware, which has been a core component in Russian espionage operations carried out by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for nearly two decades. Now, the NCSC is repeating its warning of the persistent, long term threat posed by states and their affiliate groups to essential services that the country relies upon every day.

The UK government is commitment to safeguarding democratic processes and this includes the implementation of digital imprint rules under the Elections Act to promote transparency in digital campaigning, strengthening defences against foreign interference and advancing online safety measures through the implementation of the Online Safety Act.

Lindy Cameron said “The last year has seen a significant evolution in the cyber threat to the UK, not least because of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine but also from the availability and capability of emerging tech... “As our Annual Review shows, the NCSC and our partners have supported government, the public and private sector, citizens, and organisations of all sizes across the UK to raise awareness of the cyber threats and improve our collective resilience."

Right now, the NCSC, which is part of the GCHQ spy agency, considers that certain individuals are more vulnerable to attack, compared to corporate entities, where cyber security is much more likely to be professionally managed. In this respect, the NCSC has also launched a new opt-in service for high-risk individuals to be alerted if malicious activity on personal devices or accounts is detected and to swiftly advise to take protective measures.

“Beyond the present challenges, we are very aware of the threats on the horizon, including rapid advancements in tech and the growing market for cyber capabilities. We are committed to facing those head on and keeping the UK at the forefront of cyber security.” the report says

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