UK Security Chief Warns That The Country Is Underestimating Cyber Attacks by Tyler Cross

Tyler Cross

Published on: December 5, 2024
Former Senior Writer

The UK’s cybersecurity chief is warning the public that they’re underestimating the power of aggressive cyber attacks from enemy states and state-sponsored criminal gangs.

The speech pointed out the ruthless “aggression and recklessness,” that comes from Chinese hackers and the growing gap between the UK’s cybersecurity defenses and the advanced threats it must face. Richard Horne, chief of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), will draw attention to it during his inaugural speech.

The UK is currently facing an unprecedented amount of cyberattacks from Chinese and Russian state-sponsored hacking groups. Currently, it’s facing these threats daily, with no end in sight. From September 2023 to August 2024, the UK faced a sharp rise in the frequency of large-scale dangers.

Many experts believe that China was responsible for a hack on the UK Electoral Commission. Other recent high-profile hacks include the British Library and Synnovis. The Synnovis attack was particularly threatening since it demonstrated how lax the country’s medical security systems are.

“China remains a highly sophisticated cyber-actor, with increasing ambition to project its influence beyond its borders,” he will say during his speech. “And yet, despite all this, we believe the severity of the risk facing the UK is being widely underestimated.”

In addition to Chinese threat actors, Russia’s state directly threatened the UK with a prolonged cyber-campaign that risks knocking out their electricity grid.

“There is no room for complacency about the severity of state-led threats or the volume of the threat posed by cybercriminals,” reads Horne’s speech. “The defense and resilience of critical infrastructure, supply chains, the public sector, and our wider economy must improve.”

The speech will go on to emphasize the importance of vigilance and reinforcing supply chain defenses and the need for people to “wake up” to the threat.

“The UK cannot underestimate the severity of state-led threats or the volume of the threat posed by criminals.”