Ahead of what the British government has declared to be a Russian invasion of Ukraine, parliament was sounding the alarm about the potential impact on Britain and calling for the UK to strike back in response to any cyber attacks.
Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday Liberal Democrat MP, Jamie Stone, said: “We should be clear; if Russia invades Ukraine, massive sanctions will rightly be placed on Russia, and if that happens, we can expect a salvo of cyber attacks on the United Kingdom.”
He asked the secretary of state for defence, Ben Wallace, for reassurance about the UK’s security “and that what is good for the goose is good for the gander, and that if necessary we could use cyber warfare to give as good as we get back to Russia.”
Mr Wallace responded by mentioning the National Cyber Force, the UK’s offensive cyber agency, and added: “I cannot comment on the operations that it will undertake, but I am a soldier and I was always taught that the best part of defence is offence.”
But should the UK really expect a salvo of cyber attacks? And if the National Cyber Force responds, does that risk escalating a cyber tit-for-tat into what President Joe Biden has warned could be an actual shooting war?
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What do we know about the National Cyber Force?
The United Kingdom has adopted a much more secret approach to its offensive cyber activities than allies, including the United States which has pledged itself to a doctrine of “persistent engagement”.
The only case study that the government has ever spoken of in regards to Britain’s offensive actions references a campaign to tackle Islamic State militants and their…
Source : skynews
