Hacker typing on a laptop
The Joint Committee on National Security Strategy (JCNSS) has warned that the UK is “A hostage to fortune: ransomware and UK national security.”
The report into the UK readiness for a cyber-attack on critical national infrastructure says the Home Office have no significant plans for a bad ransomware attack which the JCNSS considers the UK to be at high risk.
The report warns that such an attack would likely cause “severe disruption” to the delivery of core government services, including healthcare and child protection. It has the potential to “bring the country to a standstill.”
It points out that there have been numerous cybersecurity compromises in the public realm of late, including on several police forces and St Helens council.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) describes critical national infrastructure (CNI) as national assets essential for society’s functioning, including energy supply, water supply, transportation, health and telecommunications.
