Russia and China are using cyber attacks to ‘steal, sabotage and ransack’ the West, Dominic Raab warns as he reveals EIGHTY universities, colleges and schools were targeted by ransomware in March
- Raab speaking at National Cyber Security Centre’s CYBERUK conference today
- Says authoritarian regimes are using technology to attack international system
- Reveals 80 universities/schools hit by ransomware after reopening in March
Hostile state actors and criminal gangs are threatening to undermine the foundations of democracy, Dominic Raab will warn today.
The Foreign Secretary will outline how authoritarian regimes such as North Korea, Iran, Russia and China are using technology to sabotage, steal and ransack the international system.
Eighty schools, colleges and universities were hit by ransomware attacks when they prepared to return to face-to-face teaching in March, Mr Raab will say in a speech this morning.
The Foreign Secretary will tell the National Cyber Security Centre’s CYBERUK conference: ‘That’s why we are working to help organisations across the UK to protect themselves.’
It comes as a major ransomware attack linked to Russian cyber criminals hits petrol supplies across a large swathe of the United States.
The Foreign Secretary will outline how authoritarian regimes such as North Korea, Iran, Russia and China are using technology to sabotage, steal and ransack the international system.
Eighty schools, colleges and universities were hit by ransomware attacks when they prepared to return to face-to-face teaching in March, Mr Raab will say in a speech this morning.
Mr Raab will warn that cyber-attacks pose a ‘real risk on a daily basis’, while the UK uses its capabilities to defend citizens and safeguard international collaborations.
He is expected to say: ‘Hostile state actors and criminal gangs want to undermine the foundations of our society and democracy.
‘And let’s be clear, when states like Russia have criminals operating from their territory they have a responsibility to prosecute, not shelter them.’
The Foreign Secretary will tell the conference there is a ‘need to clarify’ how rules around cyber activity are enforced.
And Mr Raab will call for a ‘wider agreement on how to respond to those states who commit malicious cyber attacks’.
The Colonial Pipeline runs from Texas to New Jersey and carries 100 million gallons of fuel daily
It came as a major ransomware attack on a key petrol pipeline in the US was linked to a Russian military intelligence unit by the FBI.
The Colonial Pipeline, which supplies 40 per cent of the fuel for the East Coast, was shut down for a fifth consecutive day.
President Biden on Monday said there wasn’t evidence that Russia was involved, despite the FBI pointing the finger at DarkSide, which has gone after numerous US and European companies but refrained from going after Russia.
The FBI on Monday confirmed that DarkSide was responsible for the attack on Colonial Pipeline that has experts fearing widespread gas shortages and significant price hikes.
The cybercrime outfit – which insists it has no political connections – has already boasted that it has been paid millions of dollars in ransom from 80 companies across the US and Europe.