Britain under daily cyberattack amid warnings civilians are now in the firing line
Britain is already under daily cyberattack, and the next casualty may not be a hacked network or paralysed business but ordinary people, a leading security expert has warned.
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China recently unveiled a dedicated cyberspace military unit at its largest-ever parade, days after GCHQ revealed Beijing-linked hackers had struck at 80 countries since 2021, including attempts on UK critical infrastructure.
Hackers backed by hostile states have already stolen millions of telecoms records in the US, targeting high-profile figures including Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
The warning comes against the backdrop of a surge in attacks on British businesses. M&S, Co-op, Harrods and Jaguar Land Rover have all been hit this year, with losses running into hundreds of millions of pounds.
Hospitals have also been targeted, with one NHS trust confirming a patient died after cyber disruption delayed vital test results.
“Massive economic losses, supply-chain and travel disruption, the theft and weaponisation of personal data and even death – these are the potential consequences of the state-sponsored cyberattacks we face daily,” said Shaun Cooney, Chief Product and Technology Officer at cybersecurity firm Promon, writing exclusively for LBC Opinion.
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Cooney, who played a key role in establishing GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre, argues Britain must urgently move beyond protecting only government and military systems and focus on shielding civilians and smaller businesses.
According to the National Cyber Security Centre, the number of nationally significant cyberattacks against the UK has doubled in the past year.
The Defence Secretary has previously admitted the country is under “daily attack”.
While the government has pledged £1 billion for cyber defence and set up a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command, Cooney argues that small and medium-sized businesses remain dangerously underprepared.
He said tax incentives, coordinated support programmes and a national education campaign were urgently needed to close vulnerabilities.
“The real gap isn’t in knowing where vulnerabilities are, but in what to do next,” Cooney said. “Too many organisations remain exposed even after they’ve been warned.”