London – It has been revealed that the Defence Academy, a crucial part of the UK’s defence department, has been hit by a major cyber-attack. Former British defence official Air Marshal Edward Stringer confirmed the report. This is said to be the first time that a senior defence official has confessed to a cyber-attack. Stringer claimed that this cyber-attack was launched either by Russia, China, North Korea or Iran.

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Last year, it was revealed that a cyber-attack had taken place on the Defence Academy, which trains British defence officers. Serco, the company responsible for Academy’s computer network, knew of the cyber-attack first. The senior officials of the Academy and the defence department were immediately informed about it. The cyber-attack was not entirely successful, but the attack caused severe and extensive damage to the Academy’s network, said former Air Marshal Edward Stringer.

The cyber-attack hackers are suspected of using the Academy’s network as a ‘backdoor channel’ to gain access to UK’s defence network, Stringer said in an interview with a British news channel. Air Marshal Stinger also said that the Academy’s network suffered massive damages and the website is being developed again. The former official also noted that information has been shared with ‘The National Cyber Security Centre’ that is a part of the British intelligence service.

The cyber-attack on the Defence Academy was a ‘grey zone attack,’ Stringer said. The ‘grey zone attack’ is known as an attack that is one level lower than war. Earlier, it was reported that Russia and China were behind the cyber-attacks on the United Kingdom. Besides, the United Kingdom has set up a ‘cyber force’ to counter the growing number of cyber-attacks and signalled cyber weapons development.

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