The head of GCHQ has warned that Russia is ‘relentlessly’ targeting critical infrastructure and democratic processes in the UK.
Supply chains and public trust have also been eroded by Russian interference, Anne Keast-Butler said during the annual announcement.
Keast-Butler warned that Russia is increasing its daily hybrid activity against countries, including Britain, and urged the public and businesses to make cyber security ’10 times more urgent’.
The speed of advancements in technology from Russia means that there is a ‘narrowing window’ for the UK and its allies to stay ahead, she added.
‘China is now a science and tech superpower, with sophisticated capabilities across its intelligence, cyber and military agencies,’ she said.
GCHQ has urged the technology industry and those working in national security to ‘anticipate and drive advancements’ and told the public to take action to increase cybersecurity.
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‘At home, that means taking important action now to switch passwords for passkeys, and for wider society, it means hardwiring security into new technologies, protecting supply chains and making cybersecurity 10 times more urgent.’
Earlier this year, Dr Richard Horne, head of the National Cyber Security Centre – which is part of GCHQ – warned that most nationally significant cyber attacks on Britain were carried out by hostile states including China, Iran and Russia.
He said the body dealt with around four of these attacks each week, and told businesses to be prepared to protect themselves against cyber attacks.
Experts have previously told Metro that the UK is in the dark over the threat they face from Russia.
Russia’s influence in the United States is said to be the strongest it’s been in decades after years of online disinformation campaigns, the use of Russian bots, and the easing of social media regulations.
The UK has made strides towards addressing ongoing Russian influence, including establishing the National Security Act 2023, which was set up to protect the UK from ‘espionage, interference in the political system, sabotage, and assassination.’
‘There still has not been enough communication to the British public about the threat they face from Russia, not just in information space, not just in defence, but in campaigns of undeclared warfare,’ Chatham House Russia Expert Keir Giles told Metro.
‘Democracies can’t defend themselves against threats about which the majority of their voters are simply unaware.’
Westminster whistle-blower Sergei Cristo said he has spent years trying to warn the UK about the ongoing threat to their democracy from Russian actors.
He previously told Metro: ‘You have to realise – Putin never creates an agenda. He amplifies existing destructive narratives by supporting political movements and fake news to work on that movement.’
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