UK critical infrastructure hit by 200 cyber incidents in a year, agency says

The UK’s critical national infrastructure has been hit by more than 200 cyber incidents over the past year and state-linked assailants were behind three-quarters of the attacks, according to the state cybersecurity body. Richard Horne, the chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, said hostile states such as Russia, China and Iran were increasingly targeting systems behind the UK’s key services. Examples of critical national infrastructure include the UK’s nuclear deterrent, power plants, hospitals and airports. Horne said the UK was engaged in an “ongoing contest with capable adversaries”. “This contest is not confined to a compact space. It is not like a wrestling match in a closely defined territory as some have suggested,” he said in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute.“It is far more akin to a football or basketball game, played across a large field of play, where success depends on how you operate across the entire pitch.” Richard Horne, the chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre. Photograph: CyberUK/Getty Images Horne said advances in AI were likely to accelerate the threat, exposing cyber flaws in national infrastructure, with 2028 likely to be the year when such a threat crystalises. He said organisations needed to concentrate on the “fundamentals” of cybersecurity such as ensuring they could recover quickly from attacks. “The many vulnerabilities that organisations tolerate today will be exploited in conflict tomorrow. …