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UK National Cyber Security Centre CEO Richard Horne said the agency handled more than 200 cyber incidents affecting UK critical national infrastructure and its supporting ecosystem between June 2025 and May 2026, with about 75% assessed as linked to hostile states including Russia, China and Iran. Speaking at the RUSI Annual Security Lecture, Horne said cyber security must be treated as a continuous contest rather than a static risk-management problem, warning that adversaries are already pre-positioning in infrastructure for possible future disruption and citing Volt Typhoon as a prominent example.
Horne described the threat across "far," "mid" and "near" digital spaces, arguing that governments and allies must combine intelligence, sanctions, law enforcement and offensive cyber operations while industry and government work together to secure cloud, telecoms and open-source ecosystems. He warned that AI will accelerate vulnerability discovery and attack scaling, with attackers likely to apply AI-enabled capabilities against known weaknesses in legacy critical infrastructure technology, and urged organizations to strengthen foundational controls, improve resilience and recovery, and replace unsupported systems.
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On 2026-06-17, NCSC CEO Richard Horne delivered the RUSI Annual Security Lecture in London and argued that cyber security should be treated as a continuous contest rather than a manageable static risk. He outlined threats across far, mid, and near spaces and warned about AI acceleration and adversary pre-positioning in critical infrastructure.
Between June 2025 and May 2026, the NCSC managed more than 200 cyber incidents affecting UK critical national infrastructure and its supporting ecosystem. Horne said about 75% of these incidents were believed to be linked to state actors or hostile states.
Richard Horne cited Volt Typhoon as a high-profile campaign against largely US critical national infrastructure that was attributed in 2024, using it as an example of adversary pre-positioning for potential future conflict.
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The United Kingdom has experienced a dramatic increase in the number and severity of cyberattacks targeting its organizations, as highlighted in the National Cyber Security Centre's (NCSC) latest annual review. Over the past year, the NCSC incident management team responded to 429 cyberattacks, a figure nearly identical to the previous year, but the proportion of attacks classified as 'nationally significant' rose sharply to 204, representing a 48% increase. The number of 'highly significant' attacks, which have a serious impact on central government, essential services, or a large segment of the population, also increased by 50%, reaching 18 incidents. These highly significant attacks are just one step below a national cyber emergency and require coordinated responses from senior government officials and law enforcement. The NCSC categorizes incidents on a six-level scale, with the most severe being those that disrupt critical services or threaten national security. The government has responded to this surge by issuing direct communications to chief executives and business leaders, urging them to take concrete steps to bolster their cyber resilience. This includes the recommendation to maintain physical, offline copies of cyberattack contingency plans, as digital systems may be rendered inaccessible during an incident. The advice comes in the wake of high-profile attacks on major UK companies such as Marks and Spencer, The Co-op, and Jaguar Land Rover, which resulted in empty shelves and halted production lines due to IT system outages. The attack on Jaguar Land Rover, in particular, was described as an economic security incident, with prolonged disruption threatening the government's economic growth objectives. The NCSC's annual review emphasizes the need for organizations to adopt resilience engineering strategies, focusing on the ability to anticipate, absorb, recover, and adapt to cyber threats. Firms are encouraged to plan for operations without IT systems and to develop alternative communication methods in the event of a cyberattack. The review also notes that while the overall number of incidents handled by the NCSC has remained stable, the increasing severity and sophistication of attacks pose a growing threat to national security and economic stability. The British government is taking a proactive stance by alerting industry leaders to the heightened risk environment and the necessity of robust cyber defense measures. The NCSC's chief executive, Richard Horne, has underscored that cybersecurity is now a matter of business survival and national interest. The review's findings have prompted calls for greater collaboration between government, industry, and academia to address the evolving threat landscape. The rise in significant cyberattacks is attributed to more intense, frequent, and sophisticated hostile activity targeting British businesses and critical infrastructure. The NCSC's categorization system helps prioritize response efforts and ensures that the most severe incidents receive the necessary attention and resources. The government’s outreach to business leaders is intended to drive home the urgency of preparing for cyber incidents that could have far-reaching consequences. The review also highlights the importance of learning from recent incidents to improve future response and recovery efforts. Organizations are advised to regularly test and update their contingency plans, ensuring that they are practical and accessible in a crisis. The NCSC continues to provide guidance and support to organizations across the UK, aiming to strengthen the country's overall cyber resilience. The increase in nationally significant and highly significant attacks marks the third consecutive year of rising severity, signaling a persistent and escalating threat. The government’s message is clear: cyberattacks are not just an IT issue but a critical risk to business continuity and national prosperity. The NCSC’s annual review serves as both a warning and a call to action for all sectors to prioritize cybersecurity and resilience in the face of mounting cyber threats.
Jun 29, 2026
Latvia’s National Security Service (SAB) reported that **2025 saw a record high in registered cyber threats** targeting the country, with **Russia** assessed as the primary source of cyber risk amid Latvia’s support for Ukraine. SAB said most activity was linked to cybercrime and digital fraud, but the most serious cases included **intrusion attempts, malware distribution, equipment compromise, and DDoS attacks**, and it warned that **operational technology (OT)** in energy, water, and transport often lacks sufficient protections. The agency also noted that Russian-linked hacktivist activity has shown willingness and capability to target industrial control systems for short-term disruption and intimidation, and that DDoS activity against government and critical services often aligns with politically sensitive events. In the UK, senior national security figures warned Parliament that resilience alone may be insufficient against **cyber and hybrid threats** (including sabotage and disinformation), arguing the country needs an **offensive deterrence** component to impose costs on hostile states rather than “absorbing” attacks. Separately, Check Point Research data cited by Dark Reading indicated **Latin America and the Caribbean** experienced the highest average weekly attack volume globally (3,065 attacks per week; **+26% YoY**), with prevalent activity including **information disclosure**, attempts at **remote code execution** and **authentication bypass**, and a shift toward **data-leak extortion**, credential theft, and **edge-device exploitation**; the report also projected continued ransomware growth, particularly affecting healthcare and manufacturing.
Jun 29, 2026
Cybersecurity experts warn that attacks targeting critical infrastructure are expected to intensify, with a particular focus on operational technology (OT) systems. The evolving threat landscape is being shaped by geopolitical tensions, with state actors, criminal groups, and hacktivists increasingly seeking to cause physical disruption and damage, rather than merely stealing sensitive information. Experts highlight that hybrid warfare tactics are becoming more frequent, and the convergence of cyber and kinetic operations is reaching a critical inflection point for infrastructure security. Industry leaders and analysts predict that future attacks will closely follow geopolitical conflicts, making critical infrastructure a prime target in both cyber and physical domains. The discussions emphasize the need for organizations to reassess their risk management strategies and bolster defenses across multiple domains to address the growing sophistication and intent of adversaries targeting essential services and national assets.
Jun 29, 2026