China, though, poses a huge and growing cyber threat to the UK, according to Anne Keast-Butler, who is the governor of the British spy agency GCHQ; she made these remarks on Tuesday. Although Russia and Iran are perceived as the nearest proximate threats, she underlined the possibility of an epoch-impacting one with China.
The rising concern about China’s cyber and espionage activities is not only a problem in the UK but also in all other Western countries. In the U.S. and Europe, both sides are full of anxiety. It has been the British government, headed by Rishi Sunak as its Prime Minister, that has spearheaded their discourse on these threats, and China claims to have not been aware of them even in the slightest. On Monday, the new Chancellor said that “Great Britain must face the reality of more authoritarian states from Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China,” and this idea was echoed by Keast-Butler.
Keast-Butler, at the security conference in Birmingham, one year since she became the head of the agency, said, “As the prime minister told me, the coming few years will be critical and transformational.” This was her first major public address after her appointment.
Report authors make it clear that first of all Russian threat is very actual and common worldwide, therefore, it is growing fast due to the deep links between the Russian intelligence services and proxy organizations. Iran, likewisely, also leaves mark of its persistence in the cyber area as groups associated with Tehran accused of launching cyberattacks against victims around the world.
Nevertheless, she unveiled China as her agency’s star by highlighting that, “In cyberspace, we believe that the PRC'(People’s Republic of China) irresponsible activities bring insecurity to the internet for all countries”.
Her comments are consistent with warnings from the chief of MI5 and her equivalent in the United States and the heads of MI6. The United States National Cyber Director Harry Kerok, in another session of the same conference, said that the People’s Liberation Army hackers are carrying out cyberattacks against American interests all over the world at an “unprecedented scale”.
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