Russianlinked hackers posing as journalists targeted Ministry of Defence government says UK News Sky News
pThe British military is boosting its own offensive capabilities to conduct cyber attacks against hostile states like Russiapp
Security and Defence Editor
haynesdeborah
ppThursday 29 May 2025 0510 UKppRussialinked hackers posing as journalists targeted staff at Britains Ministry of Defence in a cyber spying operation that was spotted and thwarted the government has revealedppDetails of the foiled hack emerged as Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK military is bolstering its own offensive capabilities to conduct cyber attacks against hostile states like Russia as part of a longawaited review of UK defenceppThe Strategic Defence Review is expected to be published on Monday It was launched by Sir Keir Starmer last July and comes ahead of a major summit of NATO allies in JuneppA major new podcast series by Sky News and Tortoise which begins on 10 June will explore the state of UK defences by running a wargame that simulates a Russian attack on the UKppThe nature of warfare is changing Mr Healey told a group of journalists on a visit to a secure facility in Wiltshire where the defence team that defeated the Russian cyber attack is locatedppThe keyboard is now a weapon of war and we are responding to thatppPart of this response announced on Thursday includes the creation of a new cyber command to oversee offensive and defensive cyber operationspp
Rachel Reeves faces the numbers can she cut it
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The UK and NATO expected to agree to a Trumpinspired pledge for 5 on defence spending but watch out for smoke and mirrors
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Trumps NATO ambassador says allies must agree to 5 spend on defence and security starting now
ppThe government also plans to invest more than 1bn on improving its ability to hunt locate and strike targets on the battlefield drawing on digital technologyppIn future conflict those that prevail will be those who are not just better equipped and better trained but better connected and also capable of innovating ahead of adversaries the defence secretary saidppThe thwarted Russialinked hack was one of more than 90000 cyber attacks associated with hostile states that were directed against the UK military and other parts of defence over the past two years a doubling from the previous two years the Ministry of Defence saidppPart of the increase is because the military is getting better at spotting the attempts against its networks However it is understood the attacks are becoming more sophisticated making them harder to combatppLate last year the National Cyber Security Centre NCSC which is part of GCHQ alerted the Ministry of Defence to a suspected spear phishing campaignppThe Global Operations Security Control Centre at MoD Corsham in Wiltshire which defends the Ministry of Defences networks in the UK and overseas was tasked with identifying the threatppThe team worked on computers inside a large windowless hall filled with rows of desks and a bank of large screens along one wallppMoD detected a spear phishing campaign targeting staff with the aim of delivering malware the analysis by the NCSC saidppThe initial campaign consisted of two emails with a journalistic theme attempting to represent a news organisation The second campaign followed a financial theme directing targets to a commercial file shareppThe officials who were involved revealed details of the effort during the defence secretarys visit to MoD Corsham this weekppOne of the individuals said it took about an hour to spot the attackppAsked what it felt like to discover the intrusion the individual said coolppPlease use Chrome browser for a more accessible video playerppppThe malware was linked to a Russian hacking group called RomCom a second official saidppThe particular code that was used had not been seen before so the British side gave it the name Damascened PeacockppCorsham is famous for peacocks they saidppThe two officials are part of a team of cyber experts a mix of military personnel civil servants and civilian contractors who work at the secure centreppA key focus at the moment is protecting a major deployment by the Royal Navys aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales loaded with stateoftheart F35 fast jets and protected by a task force of warships as it travels through the Red Sea off the coast of YemenppThe carrier strike group is expected to pass through the Bab elMandeb Strait in the coming days well within range of an Iranianbacked militia that has targeted British and American warships and well as commercial shipping with missilesppPlease use Chrome browser for a more accessible video playerppppThe cyber experts though are trying to defend the deployment from cyber attacksppEarlier in the month US President Donald Trump struck a deal with Houthi militants to stop them from attacking ships but the British side is still very alert to the potential threatppThe strike group is going through what could be a high risk dangerous passage Mr Healey saidp
Security and Defence Editor
haynesdeborah
ppThursday 29 May 2025 0510 UKppRussialinked hackers posing as journalists targeted staff at Britains Ministry of Defence in a cyber spying operation that was spotted and thwarted the government has revealedppDetails of the foiled hack emerged as Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK military is bolstering its own offensive capabilities to conduct cyber attacks against hostile states like Russia as part of a longawaited review of UK defenceppThe Strategic Defence Review is expected to be published on Monday It was launched by Sir Keir Starmer last July and comes ahead of a major summit of NATO allies in JuneppA major new podcast series by Sky News and Tortoise which begins on 10 June will explore the state of UK defences by running a wargame that simulates a Russian attack on the UKppThe nature of warfare is changing Mr Healey told a group of journalists on a visit to a secure facility in Wiltshire where the defence team that defeated the Russian cyber attack is locatedppThe keyboard is now a weapon of war and we are responding to thatppPart of this response announced on Thursday includes the creation of a new cyber command to oversee offensive and defensive cyber operationspp
Rachel Reeves faces the numbers can she cut it
pp
The UK and NATO expected to agree to a Trumpinspired pledge for 5 on defence spending but watch out for smoke and mirrors
pp
Trumps NATO ambassador says allies must agree to 5 spend on defence and security starting now
ppThe government also plans to invest more than 1bn on improving its ability to hunt locate and strike targets on the battlefield drawing on digital technologyppIn future conflict those that prevail will be those who are not just better equipped and better trained but better connected and also capable of innovating ahead of adversaries the defence secretary saidppThe thwarted Russialinked hack was one of more than 90000 cyber attacks associated with hostile states that were directed against the UK military and other parts of defence over the past two years a doubling from the previous two years the Ministry of Defence saidppPart of the increase is because the military is getting better at spotting the attempts against its networks However it is understood the attacks are becoming more sophisticated making them harder to combatppLate last year the National Cyber Security Centre NCSC which is part of GCHQ alerted the Ministry of Defence to a suspected spear phishing campaignppThe Global Operations Security Control Centre at MoD Corsham in Wiltshire which defends the Ministry of Defences networks in the UK and overseas was tasked with identifying the threatppThe team worked on computers inside a large windowless hall filled with rows of desks and a bank of large screens along one wallppMoD detected a spear phishing campaign targeting staff with the aim of delivering malware the analysis by the NCSC saidppThe initial campaign consisted of two emails with a journalistic theme attempting to represent a news organisation The second campaign followed a financial theme directing targets to a commercial file shareppThe officials who were involved revealed details of the effort during the defence secretarys visit to MoD Corsham this weekppOne of the individuals said it took about an hour to spot the attackppAsked what it felt like to discover the intrusion the individual said coolppPlease use Chrome browser for a more accessible video playerppppThe malware was linked to a Russian hacking group called RomCom a second official saidppThe particular code that was used had not been seen before so the British side gave it the name Damascened PeacockppCorsham is famous for peacocks they saidppThe two officials are part of a team of cyber experts a mix of military personnel civil servants and civilian contractors who work at the secure centreppA key focus at the moment is protecting a major deployment by the Royal Navys aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales loaded with stateoftheart F35 fast jets and protected by a task force of warships as it travels through the Red Sea off the coast of YemenppThe carrier strike group is expected to pass through the Bab elMandeb Strait in the coming days well within range of an Iranianbacked militia that has targeted British and American warships and well as commercial shipping with missilesppPlease use Chrome browser for a more accessible video playerppppThe cyber experts though are trying to defend the deployment from cyber attacksppEarlier in the month US President Donald Trump struck a deal with Houthi militants to stop them from attacking ships but the British side is still very alert to the potential threatppThe strike group is going through what could be a high risk dangerous passage Mr Healey saidp
