GCHQ Director Anne Keast-Butler is photographed during Cybertruck 2024 in Birmingham, England on May 14, 2024.
Matthew Horwood for Cyberuk | Getty Images News | getty images
Britain and its allies have a “narrow window” to stay ahead of the security risks posed by China, Russia and other adversaries, Britain’s top intelligence agent will warn on Wednesday.
In a rare public speech, Anne Kest-Butler, director of GCHQ – the UK’s intelligence, cyber and security agency – will say Britain is at a “moment of consequence” as the country faces increasingly brazen behavior from hostile countries.
“China is now a science and technology superpower with sophisticated capabilities in its intelligence, cyber and military agencies,” Kest-Butler is set to say, according to excerpts of the speech released ahead of time by her office.
“The ground beneath our feet is slipping,” she will say, as AI develops rapidly, with new technologies creating “a narrow window for the UK and allies to stay ahead”.
Earlier this month, two men became The first person in history to be found guilty of spying on Britain for China. Last month, the FBI, along with cyber agencies from nine other countries, including the UK, Germany and Japan, collectively warned that actors linked to China were using clandestine networks and “botnet operations” to carry out malicious cyber activity.
Cyber security must now be “ten times more urgent” according to Kest-Butler, who will call for tightened digital security “from the boardroom to the living room”.
Russia is fighting a ‘daily’ hybrid war
Keast-Butler will also focus on the growing threat from Russia, which she accuses of “stepping up its daily hybrid activity against the UK and Europe”.
Moscow is “relentlessly targeting critical infrastructure, democratic processes, supply chains and public trust,” she would say, warning that “the risk of miscalculation is as high as I have ever seen.”
nato describes Hybrid methods of warfare, using non-military tactics such as propaganda, deception, and sabotage to destabilize opponents.
“In the face of such aggression and chaos, GCHQ is working tirelessly with intelligence and defense partners to deter and mitigate the Russian threat,” Kest-Butler will say Wednesday. “As we stand firm in our support for Ukraine, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is moving backwards on the battlefield,” he said.
Last May, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, in collaboration with the FBI, the US National Security Agency, and international partners, issued an advisory reporting “a Russian state-sponsored cyber espionage-oriented campaign targeting technology companies and logistics entities.”
US officials have separately warned that “pro-Russian hacktivist groups are conducting less sophisticated, low-impact attacks on critical infrastructure.”
According to Kest-Butler’s speech, British intelligence is “disrupting Russia’s efforts to prevent smuggling of Western technology, prevent cyberattacks, and counter attempts at reckless sabotage and assassination.”
She will say, “As we stand firm in our support for Ukraine, Putin is retreating onto the battlefield.”
His speech will mark the 80th anniversary of the UKUSA intelligence agreement, which evolved into the Five Eyes security alliance of the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.