- UK NCSC chief warns of ‘large-scale hacktivist attacks’
- Attacks rival recent ransomware attacks against UK organisations
- Defenses could be strengthened by AI tools such as Claude Mythos
If a conflict were to unfold between the UK and a foreign state, there could be “large-scale hacktivist attacks” rivaling some of the most prolific attacks the UK has seen in recent years.
The comments come from Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), who warned of the scale of attacks at the CyberUK conference in Glasgow.
“If we were to be in, or close to, a conflict situation, the UK would likely face hacktivist attacks on a large scale. With similar effects and sophistication to the ransomware attacks we see today. But … no option to pay a ransom to help recover,” Horne said in his opening speech.
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Hacktivism rivaling ransomware attacks
The UK has seen several particularly damaging cyber attacks over the past 12 months, with food retailers M&S and the Co-op suffering a joint attack from Scattered Spider and the attack on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) proving to be one of the costliest in UK history.
The NCSC chief’s warning suggests that groups could launch attacks of similar scope and damage, and that organizations face a future where “paying off is just not an option.”
Horne recommends that all UK businesses across both the public and private sectors should focus on hardening defenses against threats, to the extent of “embedding cyber security into their corporate mission.”
“To ensure they understand the full extent of risk they face, you need to build defenses in depth so that initial footholds by an attacker do not result in catastrophic consequences,” Horne added.
Horne also stated that the development of AI models, such as the Claude Mythos, capable of identifying zero-days in software could be a ‘net positive’ for UK cyber defences, should they prove to be secure.
Graeme Stewart, Head of Public Sector, Check Point Software said: “At a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, the rise of growing volumes of increasingly sophisticated AI-driven cyber-attacks and unbreakable ransomware could bring the country to its knees. Large-scale hacktivist attacks pose an existential threat to the UK’s power PLC, damaging hosting and core services, just as PLC can damage the host and power. NHS, energy and supply chains.”
“Our own research shows that the UK is one of the most targeted nations in the world when it comes to cyber attacks. There can be no delay in our response to this threat, we need an urgent national conversation about how to build cyber resilience into both the public and private sectors. Upgrading cyber should be at the very top of the boardroom agenda, with Stewart’s defenses strengthened immediately.
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