Russian hackers out to target UK, warns GCHQ

SPY chief Sir Jeremy Fleming warned yesterday that Russian hackers are seeking to target Britain as it was revealed they carried out cyber attacks on Ukraine before the war.

The head of GCHQ said there was evidence Kremlin operatives were trying to escalate the conflict further afield in a ‘range of activity’.

He added: ‘We’ve seen indications that Russia’s cyber operatives continue to look for targets in countries that oppose their actions. That’s why we have increased our efforts to ensure UK businesses and government urgently improve levels of cyber resilience.’

The warning came ahead of a speech by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Steve Barclay, outlining how Russia poses a significant cyber threat to Britain. The minister is expected to tell the CyberUK conference in Wales today that a Russian-based organised crime group has been behind failed ransomware attempts in the UK to steal personal data, with 53 victim reports in the past year.

Yesterday, UK and US intelligence revealed that Russia was behind an attack targeting a commercial communications company in Ukraine on February 24 just an hour before the invasion – which had an impact on windfarms and internet use elsewhere in Europe. FOREIGN Secretary Liz Truss said: ‘This is clear and shocking evidence of a deliberate and malicious attack by Russia.’