UK is hit by 60 major cyber raids a month

BRITAIN is bombarded with 60 significant cyber attacks a month following a ‘step change’ in online Russian aggression, Britain’s cyber security chief said last night.

State-sponsored hackers who want to steal defence and foreign policy secrets are among those behind the barrage.

Ciaran Martin, head of GCHQ’s new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), warned it was only a matter of time before a major breach. He said this could echo the 2015 attack on the US Office of Personnel Management in which the details of 25million government staff were compromised.

GCHQ, the UK’s surveillance agency, expects more online infiltration of soft targets such as councils, charities and universities to steal personal data and research.

Mr Martin said there were 188 serious attacks in the past three months, many of which threatened national security.

The incidents often involve hundreds of thousands of simultaneous attacks, such as fake emails attempting to infiltrate Government departments.

Speaking ahead of the opening of the NCSC by the Queen tomorrow, Mr Martin singled out the surge in Russian activity as the Kremlin sought to ‘assert power and influence against the West’.

He added: ‘Over the last two years there has been a step change in Russian aggression in cyberspace. Part of that has been attacks on political institutions, political parties and parliamentary organisations.’