UK must brace for rise in state-backed cyberattacks, security chief says

By Sam Tabahriti

LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) - Britain should brace for a rise in cyberattacks linked to hostile states, the head of the country's cybersecurity agency said on Wednesday, as the government urged tech firms to help build defences powered by artificial intelligence.

Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, said the agency continues to handle about four nationally significant cyber incidents a week on average and that the highest-impact attacks are increasingly tied to governments rather than criminal gangs alone. The NCSC is part of the UK's intelligence agency GCHQ.

Criminal threats such as ransomware remain the most common risk facing organisations, Horne told the government's annual CYBERUK conference in Glasgow, according to a copy of his speech.

But he said the majority of the most serious incidents now originate "directly or indirectly" from nation states, including China, Iran and Russia. He said such activity was being directed at Britain and its European partners.

Horne also warned that the UK is living through "the most seismic geopolitical shift in modern history."

Britain's domestic spy agency MI5 said last year that authorities had disrupted more than 20 Iran-linked plots since 2022, some of which targeted individuals living in Britain.

"Were we to be in, or near, a conflict situation, the UK would likely face hacktivist attacks at scale," Horne warned, adding that such campaigns could cause disruption comparable to major ransomware attacks, but without the option of paying to restore systems.

Mathieu Cousin, a cyber risk and threat intelligence strategist at insurers AXA XL, said last month that there was also likely to be a rise in cyberactivity linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

"When geopolitical tensions rise, cyber activity follows. In this conflict, Iranian state-aligned and affiliated groups are using cyber operations as another way to respond," he said.

Horne said on Wednesday that advances in artificial intelligence were expected to accelerate cyberattacks by enabling faster identification of vulnerabilities, even as the technology offers opportunities to strengthen defences.

At the same conference, Security Minister Dan Jarvis called on leading AI companies to work with the government to build AI-powered cyber-defence capabilities to protect critical national infrastructure.

Jarvis also invited businesses to sign a voluntary Cyber Resilience Pledge and announced 90 million pounds ($122 million) of additional investment over three years to bolster cybersecurity, including support for small and medium-sized firms.

($1 = 0.7393 pounds)

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Hugh Lawson)