UK Prepares to Retaliate Against "Increasingly Aggressive" Russia

Russian federation poses an increasing threat to the U.k., the director general of MI5 said in an interview today. Following the warning of MI5 chief Andrew Parker, the chancellor Philip Hammond has also said that the UK must be able to retaliate against cyber attacks.

The chancellor talked about the National Cyber Security Strategy in London explaining how the UK government plans to spend £1.9bn on cybersecurity, to defend businesses, retaliate confronting hostile "foreign actors," and cyber scammers. He did non refer directly to Russian federation.

"If we do not take the ability to reply in cyberspace to an assault which takes down our power network - leaving us in darkness or hits our air traffic control system grounding our planes - we would be left with the impossible option of turning the other cheek, ignoring the devastating consequences, or resorting to a armed forces response," Hammond said. "That is a choice we do not want to face and a choice we practice not want to go out equally a legacy to our successors."

Russian federation presents a growing cyber threat - UK spy chief

Hammond's speech communication comes after a rare intervention from MI5. In the MI5'due south 107-year history, it is the first fourth dimension that the chief has given a newspaper interview. In an interview with theGuardian, Andrew Parker said "at a time when much of the focus was on Islamic extremism, covert action from other countries was a growing danger. Most prominent was Russia."

"It is using its whole range of country organs and powers to push its foreign policy abroad in increasingly ambitious means - involving propaganda, espionage, subversion and cyber-attacks," the security agency's managing director general added.

Cyber espionage is not a new threat, but cyber warfare is probably non something we have seen. The governments are now taking desperate - and destructive - measures to retaliate confronting cyber threats. During the ongoing U.s.a. presidential election season, we saw several cases where Russian hackers were alleged of hacking the ballot officials - permit'south not forget the DNC hacks also. The US regime went as far as formally accusing the Kremlin of trying to influence the 2022 Presidential Election.

While it was simply the US ready to retaliate against Russia, the Uk authorities and its security agencies appear to be working to "strike dorsum" too.

Russian federation, still, dismisses these allegations. "Until someone produces proof, we will consider those statements unfounded and baseless."