UK is ‘number 1 target for Russian cyberattacks' as Vlad wreaks revenge for Ukraine backing and avoids offending Trump

Scottish Sun

10 hours ago

THE UK has become the "number 1 target for Russian cyberattacks" as Vladimir Putin seeks revenge on Ukraine-backing enemies.
Millions of Brits could be plunged into darkness as the mad zealot concentrates his sabotage on British infrastructure in a bid to avoid offending Trump.
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Russian cyberattack threats have surged since the start of the year
Credit: Getty
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Mad Vlad is thought to be focusing his sabotage efforts on the UK
Credit: EPA
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UK leaders have been urged to ramp up protections against Russian threats
Credit: Getty
It's believed Trump's friendlier stance towards the raging despot has pivoted his attention away from American targets, concentrating his efforts on the UK instead.
The UK has seen a significant hike in the number of Russian cyberattacks since the start of the year, according to government sources.
An official told The Times: 'It's been really evident from Russia's recent propaganda that we're target No 1.
'If only the British state was as powerful as they claim.'
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UK spy chiefs confirmed that Vlad's objective is to create "mayhem on British" and European streets – targeting key infrastructure and attempting to cause havoc with the economy.
Last year, minister Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, warned Britain and its allies "not underestimate" the threat posed by Russia in its "hidden war".
Putin's forces have previously targeted UK energy infrastructure and "won't think twice" about attacking British businesses, he said.
He warned an attack of this kind could turn the lights off for millions of people by shutting down power grids.
The cyber attack plans would be an attempt to dilute support for Ukraine from allied states, he added.
He slammed the Kremlin as "exceptionally" aggressive and "reckless" in this area, adding that a number of attacks had already been foiled both publicly and behind the scenes.
According to Richard Horne, the head of GCHQ's national Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) the UK is dangerously unprepared for this surge in cyber attacks.
Speaking at the launch of the NCSC annual review last year, which lay bare the alarming rise in cyber threats facing the UK, he urged UK leaders to increase the pace they're working at to "keep ahead" of Putin.
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He said that the NCSC received 1,957 reports of cyber attacks in 2024, 430 of which needed support from the centre's incident management team - up from 371 the previous year.
Of these incidents, 89 were nationally significant.
PREPARING FOR WAR
Just a couple of months ago, reports emerged of government officials racing to update decades-old contingency plans to protect the country and prepare for any potential combat.
The classified "home defence plan" would lay out how Downing Street will respond if Vladimir Putin declares war on the UK, including moving the Royal Family into bunkers.
Ministers worry Britain could be outfought by Russia on the battlefield, but also poorly defended at home as things stand.
Experts have warned that the country's national infrastructure is vulnerable ahead of the release of Labour's Strategic Defence Review - an examination of the Armed Forces.
As military warfare has evolved in the past two decades, fears are that Putin could launch a combination of attacks, including conventional ballistic missile strikes, sabotage and the latest tactic in the Russian playbook - cyber warfare.
But Britain - which is just beginning to review and revise its security and contingency plans for the first time in more than 20 years - is feared to not be fully prepared to go to war against the Russians.
Former Nato commander Colonel Hamish De Bretton-Gordon told The Sun: "Britain is very much in the sights of Putin's derision, and we are the ones likely to be attacked first.
"Britain really has got to dust off its contingency plans. Over 20 years of neglect, and we understand that's exactly what this report is about at the moment."
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Britain is just starting to review and revise its security and contingency plans for the first time in more than 20 years
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Fears are that Putin could launch a combination of attacks
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Retired military officer Colonel Richard Kemp, who was working in the Cabinet Office when the contingency plans were last updated, told The Sun: "Contingency plans like this should be updated frequently. Twenty years is far too long, especially given the radically changed threat picture.
"Putin has said Britain is in his crosshairs since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"Even before then, he proved he was willing to attack this country, including with a nerve agent attack in Salisbury in 2018. We should take him seriously."
The classified plan by the Cabinet Office's Resilience Directorate - which was last updated in 2005 - would set out war strategies in the event of a catastrophic attack by the Russians, which could well involve tactical and strategic nuclear weapons.
The plan is based on the War Book, a Cold War dossier of instructions for government response to nuclear attacks.
Under such plans, Britain could be divided into 12 zones, each governed by Cabinet ministers, and food rationed.
The plans will include scenarios like widespread sabotage and crippling cyber warfare, which were seen as a limited threat back when the document was last updated.
It will also direct the PM on how to run a wartime government, as well as strategies for travel networks, courts and the postal system, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Although the highly-classified document is expected to never be revealed in the public domain, military experts suggest what could be changed to prepare us for a potential war against the Russians.
Colonel Bretton-Gordon said that cyber attacks will be given a major chunk of attention in the latest round of updates.
He believes the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) would be given additional funding to improve the existing measures against cyber attackers.