Britain's national security is only as strong as your phone signal

These hidden networks carry the lifeblood of the modern economy, yet their importance is often overlooked - until they are threatened.

Days earlier, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) had issued a warning that pointed to the same vulnerability from another angle. APT28, a Russian cyber actor, had been exploiting vulnerable routers and hijacking internet traffic. These are not separate issues. While one centres on submarines and cables, and the other on routers and passwords, both are happening on the same network - just at different points.

Britain’s adversaries are probing the digital infrastructure on which its economy and security depend, and the scale of that threat is growing. The NCSC handled 204 nationally significant cyber-attacks in the 12 months to August 2025, up from 89 the year before. Eighteen were classed as highly significant - almost 50 per cent more than the previous year.

The UK still has an opportunity to treat connectivity not as a background utility, but as a strategic asset. It carries government communications, supports hospitals and energy systems, links transport networks and financial markets, and underpins military supply chains.

A digital failure is no longer just an IT outage. It is a national security event.

Hybrid threats no longer sit at the margins of security policy - they cut through core systems. Cable landing stations, fibre routes, mobile networks, data centres and even office routers are all part of the same operational picture. When they fail, the impact does not stay contained within IT. It spills into public safety, economic stability and state capacity.

The UK already understands how to respond when threats are visible. It deploys aircraft, sails warships and monitors hostile activity at sea. In response to recent Russian activity in the Atlantic, 500 British personnel were mobilised and RAF aircraft flew more than 450 hours. But when the threat arrives through software or a compromised supplier, it can appear less dramatic - even when the consequences are just as serious.

Patching a vulnerability is no longer enough.

What matters is whether the system around it is built to withstand pressure. That means clear control over critical networks, stronger governance of sensitive systems, and resilience across infrastructure to absorb and contain disruption. These are not technical details. They determine whether the UK can withstand a shock - or amplify it.

The UK’s telecommunications sector is already investing heavily in that resilience. VodafoneThree alone is investing £11 billion in its UK network, strengthening fixed and mobile infrastructure that underpins everything from emergency services to enterprise systems. This reflects a broader shift: connectivity is no longer just about coverage or speed, but about security, control and continuity under pressure.

This is not an argument for isolation. The choice is not between openness and protectionism, but between passive dependency and risk-based control. The UK should continue to strengthen its digital backbone through more resilient fibre networks, secure 5G deployment, stronger protection for critical infrastructure, and procurement frameworks that prioritise resilience alongside cost.

It should also deepen coordination between the government and network operators, particularly those responsible for securing critical national infrastructure and supporting sensitive public-sector and defence environments. Planning, intelligence-sharing and response must be aligned before a crisis hits, not improvised during one.

Britain has already learned that energy security is national security. It must now apply the same logic to digital infrastructure.

The networks that carry data, communications and economic activity are no longer back-office systems. They are part of the country’s defence posture. Strengthening them deserves the same strategic attention as more visible instruments of security - because the next major test of British resilience may begin not with an explosion, but with a login.

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Steve Knibbs is the Director of Vodafone Business Security Enhanced.

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