Russian hackers targeted Britain’s media, telecommunications and energy sectors within the last year, according to the head of the U.K. National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), the federal agency tasked with fending off cyberattacks.
Ciaran Martin, the NCSC’s director general, blamed Russian hackers with setting their sights on British computer systems in prepared remarks published Wednesday ahead of his scheduled address on the topic at a London tech summit.
“I can’t get into precise details of intelligence matters, but I can confirm that Russian interference, seen by the National Cyber Security Centre over the past the year, has included attacks on the U.K. media, telecommunication and energy sectors,” the remarks read.
The NCSC — a division of the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain’s top intelligence agency — is “actively engaging with international partners, industry and civil society to tackle this threat,” according to its director’s remarks.
The GCHQ offshoot has detected over 600 cyberattacks since launching in October 2016, including 35 were designated “significant incidents,” the cyber director added.
Mr. Martin’s prepared remarks did not specify whether Russian hackers were successful with any of the attempted cyberattacks.
His comments echo remarks made Monday by U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May during a foreign policy speech, in which she warned Russia against meddling in foreign affairs.
“I have a very simple message for Russia,” Ms. May said. “We know what you are doing. And you will not succeed. Because you underestimate the resilience of our democracies, the enduring attraction of free and open societies, and the commitment of Western nations to the alliances that bind us.”
While U.S. intelligence officials has blamed Russian hackers with interfering in the 2016 White House race by targeting voting infrastructure and successfully infiltrating political campaigns, among other targets, Ms. May said that British authorities “haven’t seen any successful direct attempts to meddle in the U.K. electoral systems.”
“Our electoral system is amongst the most robust in the world,” the prime minister said. “But obviously we continue to make sure we take all possible steps to protect the integrity of our electoral system.”
Russia has previously denied interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential race, and its embassy in London cast doubts Wednesday over Mr. Martin’s latest claims.
“We would be interested in finding out the details and seeing the original findings on which the statements are based,” the embassy said, BBC reported. “It would be most unfortunate to see [Britain] informed by wrong intelligence.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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