Britain to create a new cyber force of up to 2,000 personnel to tackle cyber threat

ReutersSep 21, 2018 18:25:27 IST

Britain is significantly increasing its ability to wage war in cyberspace with the creation of a new offensive cyber force of up to 2,000 personnel, Sky News reported on 20 September.

The new force which is expected to be announced soon would represent a nearly four-fold increase in manpower focused on offensive cyber operations, Sky News said.

Representational image.

Made up of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) officials, military personnel and contractors, it looks set to receive more than 250 million pounds in funding, a source told Sky News.

Sky News also reported that a second source said that the figure would likely be higher.

The plan by the Ministry of Defence and GCHQ comes amid a growing cyber threat from Russia and after Britain used cyber weapons for the first time to fight Islamic State, Sky News said.

Britain and Russia have been at loggerheads over many issues including an incident in Salisbury when London accused Moscow of poisoning a former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter with the nerve agent Novichok.