UK government vulnerable to ‘catastrophic ransomware’ attack: Report
The report lambasted the UK government’s attitude in ignoring the risk, which may lead to “catastrophic costs” later on. “If the UK is to avoid being held hostage to fortune and avoid electoral interference it is vital that ransomware becomes a more pressing political priority, and that further substantial resources be devoted to tackling this pernicious threat to the UK’s national security,” the report added.
Growing attacks on state-owned infrastructure in several regions
The concerns of the Committee are not unfounded, as there has been a marked increase in cyberattacks on the country. Earlier this year, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre issued an alert to Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) organizations and warned of an emerging threat from state-aligned groups. The UK is the third most targeted country, after the US and Ukraine, in terms of cyberattacks.
“The threat comes particularly from state-aligned groups sympathetic to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has emerged over the past 18 months,” the NCSC alert said.
In addition, the country’s National Health Service (NHS) was attacked last year, which not only disrupted several health services but might have led to the patients’ data falling into the hands of malicious elements.
Overall, there has been an increase in the number of attacks on critical infrastructure owned by the Government. Earlier this year, several federal agencies in the US faced attacks, which were related to MOVEit, a file transfer system. Similarly, Australia also reported a marked increase in cyberattacks on its critical infrastructure, with an attack on its infrastructure every six minutes.
Cyberattacks are growing in frequency across the world, making it imperative for governments to enhance measures to improve cybersecurity to keep pace with the growing sophistication of attackers.
