UK announced construction of cyber defense center “capable of launching attacks against hostile states”

British authorities have announced the construction a cyber defense center capable of launching attacks against “hostile states”, as British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace revealed in an interview with the newspaper The telegraph.

The minister announced that the office would employ thousands of analysts and hackers in 2030, putting the country “at the head” of nations capable of carrying out such attacks. The new National Cyber ​​Force headquarters, with a budget of £ 5bn (around $ 6.7bn), will be built in the north-west of England, in Samlesbury, Lancashire.

Between the functions that the Minister foresees can be carried out by this center are the the persecution of pedophile networks on the Internet, the fight against terrorism and the defense against “hostile states”.

As an example, Wallace cited the 2017 cyberattack on the country’s National Health Service (NHS) by North Korea using the Wannacry ransomware. “My duty is to defend, but part of it is to have the ability to dismantle the ability of your opponents to attack you,” said the minister.

He also warned that the UK had not yet suffered a “first-rate” and “catastrophic” cyberattack, so it would be “neglect of duty” if the government were not able to counterattack it. the same scale.

The Defense Secretary explained that cyberspace has become “a new area of ​​battle” and that it is essential that the UK can operate there against potential adversaries. “Some foreign states wage cyber warfare on us every day. And we have the right, under international law and among ourselves, to defend ourselves. We will defend against cyber warfare if this war is dangerous, corrupt or harmful, ”he said.

Wallace added that the creation of the new center – which will be jointly managed by the Government Communications Headquarters – would put the UK “at the head” of countries capable of organizing offensive cyber attacks. And he added: “We will be one of the few countries in the world to have this capacity”.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to make reference to the new initiative during his speech at the Conservative Party conference, which begins this Sunday in Manchester.

(With information from Europa Press)

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