Britain sees 50% spike in major cyberattacks as top firms targeted

By Alex Wickham

 

The UK has seen a significant increase in major cyberattacks by criminals and hostile states over the last year, the country’s cyber security agency said, following a spate of high-profile incidents targeting companies from Jaguar Land Rover to Marks and Spencer Group Plc.

 

Britain’s National Cyber Security Center, part of its signals intelligence agency GCHQ, said it had dealt with 429 cyber incidents in the 12 months to the end of August. It categorised nearly half of those as “nationally significant,” meaning it was responding to four such incidents a week. 

 

Some 18 of the cases were classed by the NCSC as “highly significant,” having a “serious impact” on central government, essential services or the UK economy. It said that represented a 50 per cent increase on the previous year.

 

 

The data, revealed by NCSC chief Richard Horne in a speech Tuesday, suggests the cybersecurity threat to businesses in Britain goes well beyond the recent public cases.

 

“Over the past few weeks and months  we have seen household names impacted by cyber incidents  across all sectors of the economy, from retail to manufacturing and transport. And those are just the incidents that have made the headlines,” Horne will say according to a press release by the NCSC. 

 

‘Strategic Foreign Interference’ 

In August, Jaguar Land Rover was hit by a major cyberattack that led to the company shutting down manufacturing sites around the world. The disruption, which has likely cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars, has spread throughout its supply chain, threatening thousands of jobs. 

 

In an unprecedented move, the UK government stepped in, agreeing to guarantee a £1.5 billion ($2 billion) emergency loan so the company can pay its suppliers.

 

A cyberattack on a key provider of airline check-in and boarding systems snarled travel at major European airports including London’s Heathrow in September, forcing staff to process passengers manually and triggering delays and cancellations. 

 

In April, hackers struck Marks and Spencer’s, costing the retailer an estimated £300 million. Meanwhile, the Co-op estimated a £206 million underlying margin impact from a cyberattack earlier in the year.

 

The UK government’s handing of national security issues is under scrutiny following the collapse of an espionage case involving two men accused of spying for China. Horne previously named China as the dominant threat to cybersecurity in Britain. 

 

On Monday, MI5, the UK’s domestic security service, warned politicians and their staff that they are being targeted by spies from China, Russia and Iran in efforts geared toward undermining British democracy.

 

“The UK is a target of long-term strategic foreign interference and espionage from elements of the Russian, Chinese and Iranian states which, in different ways, seek to further their economic and strategic interests and cause harm to our democratic institutions,” MI5 said.