Head of British intelligence warns of growing cyber threat from China and Russia
Kyiv • UNN
The head of GCHQ stated that China is transforming into a cyber superpower and that Russia is intensifying hybrid attacks. The number of large-scale cyberattacks on Britain has increased by 50%.
China is rapidly closing the technological and cyber gap with the West, and the UK and its allies have increasingly less time to maintain their advantage. This will be stated by Anne Keast-Butler, Director of the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), in a rare public speech, Bloomberg reports, according to UNN.
Details
According to Keast-Butler, China has already become a science and technology superpower with powerful cyber capabilities in the fields of intelligence and defense.
"China is now a science and technology superpower with sophisticated capabilities across its intelligence, cyber and military services,"
She will also emphasize that the rapid development of artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing the security landscape.
"The ground beneath our feet is shifting,"
Britain records a surge in cyberattacks
In her speech, the head of British intelligence will call on businesses and intelligence agencies to cooperate more actively to protect against new threats. According to her, spy agencies and technology companies must "together anticipate and drive progress at a pace that reaches the limit of what is possible."
Last year, the UK National Cyber Security Centre recorded a 50% increase in the number of large-scale cyberattacks. Among the hackers' targets were major British companies, including Jaguar Land Rover and Marks and Spencer.
Warning regarding Russia
Separately, Keast-Butler will accuse Russia of intensifying "hybrid activity" against Britain and Europe. According to her, Moscow is "relentlessly attacking critical infrastructure, democratic processes, supply chains, and public trust."
"The risk of miscalculation is as high as I have ever seen it,"
Cooperation with the USA
In her speech, Keast-Butler will also highlight the importance of cooperation between British and American intelligence amid tensions in transatlantic relations during Donald Trump's presidency. The speech is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the signals intelligence agreement between the US and the UK, which became the foundation of the "Five Eyes" alliance.
"The world is experiencing a new era of radical uncertainty, contested geopolitics and fast-moving technology,"