UK is developing offensive cyberattack capability to counter enemy-attacks: Defence Minister Ben Wallace

London: – UK is yet to suffer a ‘tier one’ and ‘catastrophic’ cyber attack and it would be a ‘dereliction of duty’ if the government were not in a position to strike back on the same scale, said Ben Wallace, Defence Minister of the United Kingdom. Furthermore, he added that the United Kingdom would develop a capability to launch offensive cyberattacks in the near future. Last year, the United Kingdom announced the National Cyber Force to be headquartered in Lancashire and will invest £5billion to build it. Defence Minister Ben Wallace and Foreign Minister Liz Truss made this announcement.

‘Some foreign regimes are using cyber warfare against the United Kingdom every day. The United Kingdom has every right to defend itself against this war under international laws. If this war is dangerous and damaging, the United Kingdom will do its best to protect itself. Aggressive cyberattacks will be a part of that strategy. In addition to the criminal gangs, terrorists and their networks in the United Kingdom, attacks will also be launched on enemy countries carrying out cyberattacks.’ said Defence Minister Ben Wallace. He also pointed out that cyberattacks would be a new front in the war.

Defence Minister Wallace justified the capability to launch offensive cyberattacks saying, ‘Who knows where we’ll be in 20 years’ time, we haven’t had a tier-one cyber attack yet, a catastrophic cyber attack.’ He also claimed that the United Kingdom could launch a counter-attack on the network, where the cyberattacks originate from, and on sensitive areas of foreign regimes. The Department of Defence and the agency GCHQ will jointly take charge of the National Cyber-force. The Defence Minister also said that in the coming years, the United Kingdom would be one of the leading countries in the world in the ‘offensive cyberattacks’ sector.

Foreign Minister Liz Truss added ‘British National Cyber-force will help confront aggressive behaviour from the malign actor. The United Kingdom is investing in next-generation defence capability to protect our people and help our friends counter cyber threats. They will also be assisting the British allies against any threats. The new headquarters and investment will send a powerful message to our allies and adversaries alike.

Britain’s National Cyber-force will include thousands of cyber experts. It will comprise experts from the Department of Defence, GCHQ, MI6 and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. Earlier, the British government had taken an aggressive stance on Russian cyberattacks. Last year, the United Kingdom also made public allegations against Russia regarding cyberattacks to steal information about the Coronavirus vaccine. Earlier, it was reported that the United Kingdom was planning to launch cyberattacks, on Russian leaders and organizations, in response to Russian spying and other activities.