UK: £22m to fund Army cyber operations centres.

Defence secretary Penny Mordaunt has announced that the government is to invest £22m in establishing a network of Army cyber operations centres.

"Cyber can bring down our national infrastructure and undermine our democracy" (Picture source: Kronos)

Penny Mordaunt said: “We know all about the dangers. Whether the attacks come from Russia, China or North Korea. Whether they come from hacktivists, criminals or extremists. Whether its malware or fake news, cyber can bring down our national infrastructure and undermine our democracy.”

She added: “It’s time to pay more than lip service to cyber. We must convince our adversaries their advances simply aren’t worth the cost. Cyber enemies think they can act with impunity. We must show them they can’t. That we are ready to respond at a time and place of our choosing in any domain, not just the virtual world. We need coherent cyber offence as well as defence.”

The centres are expected to operate 24/7 and will not only disseminate information and dispel false data, but also provide cyber powers for overseas operations and humanitarian efforts. The centres will also be designed to tackle emerging cyber threats and defend UK communications on British soil.

The number of centres and their locations has yet to be confirmed, but construction is scheduled to begin next year, ahead of an operational launch “in the early 2020s”.