{"id":234187,"date":"2026-04-22T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/uk-could-face-hacktivist-attacks-at-scale-says-head-of-security-agency-cybercrime\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T01:25:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T05:25:17","slug":"uk-could-face-hacktivist-attacks-at-scale-says-head-of-security-agency-cybercrime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/uk-could-face-hacktivist-attacks-at-scale-says-head-of-security-agency-cybercrime\/","title":{"rendered":"UK could face \u2018hacktivist attacks at scale\u2019, says head of security agency | Cybercrime"},"content":{"rendered":"

UK could face \u2018hacktivist attacks at scale\u2019, says head of security agency | Cybercrime<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2026\/apr\/22\/uk-hacktivist-attacks-at-scale-security-agency<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-04-22 01:00:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.theguardian.com<\/a><\/p>\n

The UK could face \u201chacktivist attacks at scale\u201d if it becomes embroiled in a conflict and the impact could be similar to recent high-profile ransomware incidents, according to the head of the country\u2019s online security agency.<\/p>\n

Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), will warn today that nation states now account for the most significant incidents the NCSC deals with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWere we to be in, or near, a conflict situation, the UK would likely face hacktivist attacks at scale. With similar effects and sophistication to the ransomware attacks we see today. But \u2026 no option to pay a ransom to help recover,\u201d the NCSC chief will say in a speech on Wednesday opening the annual CyberUK conference in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

Ransomware gangs \u2013 who demand a payment in exchange for unlocking IT systems they have encrypted \u2013 have hit a host of British targets in recent years including Marks & Spencer, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Royal Mail. In the case of JLR, the as-yet-unattributed attack slowed growth in the UK economy by hitting car production.<\/p>\n

Every public and private sector organisation needs to focus on cybersecurity in the face of such a threat, said Horne, whose agency is part of GCHQ.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefending against that means every organisation embedding cybersecurity into their corporate mission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnsuring they understand the full extent of risk they face, build defence in depth so that initial footholds by an attacker don\u2019t result in catastrophic impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referring to a typical resolution of ransomware attacks, where organisations pay to unlock encrypted IT systems, Horne said the UK should prepare for a future where \u201cpaying their way out just isn\u2019t an option.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NCSC chief echoed the warning last year from Blaise Metreweli, the chief of UK spy agency MI6, who said the country was caught in \u201ca space between peace and war\u201d as tensions mount with Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be clear, cyberspace is part of that contest,\u201d said Horne….<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UK could face \u2018hacktivist attacks at scale\u2019, says head of security agency | Cybercrime https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2026\/apr\/22\/uk-hacktivist-attacks-at-scale-security-agency…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":234188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/feb55202ad76bc2a8266dfe3008a8212d042508d\/612_0_4375_3500\/master\/4375.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=3a7068949f40805135bd4bdee62f5032","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-234187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234187"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":234189,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234187\/revisions\/234189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}