Britain’s top cyber security official has sounded the alarm over a sharp rise in hostile online activity, with cyber incidents increasing by 16% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Richard Horne, of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), will highlight the growing threat in a speech today, warning that adversaries are exploiting the nation’s reliance on technology to inflict “maximum disruption and destruction.”
“Hostile activity in UK cyberspace has increased in frequency, sophistication, and intensity,” Horne is expected to say, according to a government statement.
The NCSC, part of Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency, handled 430 incidents in 2024, up from 371 the previous year. Of these, 347 cases involved data exfiltration—unauthorised and covert data transfers—while 20 were linked to ransomware attacks.
The NCSC also issued 542 bespoke notifications to organisations affected by cyber incidents, more than double the 258 issued in 2023. These alerts provided crucial guidance on mitigating the impact of cyberattacks.
In its annual review, published alongside the statement, the NCSC identified ransomware as “the most immediate and disruptive” threat to critical infrastructure, including energy, water, transport, healthcare, and telecommunications.
The report also cautioned about the potential for hackers to harness artificial intelligence to orchestrate more sophisticated cyberattacks.
“We believe the severity of the risk facing the UK is being widely underestimated,” Horne will warn. “There is no room for complacency about the severity of state-led threats or the volume of the threat posed by cybercriminals.”
The rising tide of cyberattacks underscores the urgent need for businesses and institutions to bolster their defences as they navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape.
