Britain and its allies will keep up support for Ukraine, Britain’s Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden said on Monday, amid growing Russian cyber threats. Speaking at the NATO Cyber Defence Conference in London, McFadden said that NATO countries would not be intimidated by Moscow’s digital attacks. He emphasized that there is a need for closer collaboration among NATO, businesses, and institutions to counter Russia’s rising cyber aggression.
Cyberattacks Are a New Form of Warfare
At this point, it is clear that Russia’s cyber tactics are part of an overall strategy aimed at diminishing support for Ukraine and the response of the West to President Vladimir Putin’s aggression. “We will not join those voices of weakness who want to give Putin a veto over our help for Ukraine,” McFadden said, pledging unflinching determination to keep supporting Ukraine.
While not underestimating the gravity of the digital threats by Russia, McFadden reassured that they will not allow these cyberattacks to dictate the policies or decisions of the members of the NATO alliance. “No one should underestimate the Russian aggressive and reckless cyber threat to NATO, but we will not be intimidated by it,” stated McFadden, reinforcing the position of the alliance regarding defending its nations from these emerging threats.
AI Arms Race: The Need for Collaborative Innovation
Citing a growing “role of Artificial Intelligence in the digital arms race,” a British minister made an appeal for NATO to accelerate its works on new cybersecurity tools that will employ AI in better defending itself against possible threats. To that end, he said a new British Laboratory for AI Security Research will soon be set up, at a cost to be met by an initial government funding of £8.22 million.
The new laboratory will combine the collective expertise of academia and the government to assess AI’s impact on national security and get a better grasp of how Russia is using it. McFadden pointed out the urgency for rapid acceleration in AI research to enhance joint cybersecurity among all NATO members.
Britain Commitment towards National Security, Investment in Business Collaboration
As part of efforts to bolster the country’s resilience to cyber threats, McFadden also announced that he would meet with British businesses in the coming days to discuss how they could improve their own cybersecurity measures. This is part of the government’s wider strategy to protect the private sector against cyber attacks, as Britain and its allies live through a new daily reality imposed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
NATO’s Continued Relevance
Reflecting on NATO’s critical role in these respects, McFadden said, “Seventy-five years after its foundation, it is clear we need NATO more than ever.” He also confirmed that Britain would strengthen NATO’s collective defense capabilities, especially in terms of cybersecurity, in order to answer new and increasingly sophisticated threats through digital means from peer competitors such as Russia.
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