Ukraine war: British spies playing key role in defending Kyiv from Russian cyber attacks
British spies have been playing a key role in defending Ukraine from widespread Russian cyber attacks since the start of the invasion, it has been confirmed.
The damage caused by Russian hackers would have been “very significant” without the British assistance, Leo Docherty, a junior foreign office minister, said.
He told Sky News the UK has also bolstered its own cyber defences because of “a very significant cyber threat from Russia”.
“We’re already on the frontline… We are aware of the threat. We have raised our own preparations and our own defences,” Mr Docherty said.
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“That’s why we’ve got some deep expertise when it comes to cyber defence and that’s why we’ve been very pleased to share it with our Ukrainian allies.”
Britain has made its cyber support public because keeping it secret was no longer deemed necessary, officials said – an indication that the Kremlin was already aware.
Worth some £6.35m, the so-called Ukraine Cyber Programme was activated after President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale war on 24 February.
Physical strikes by Russian troops and tanks against Ukrainian targets were coupled with a significant rise in cyber attacks, officials said.
A failure to deliver any major blow in cyber space was not because Russian hackers did not try but instead is believed to be thanks to Ukraine’s cyber defenders, backed by experts from the cyber industry and foreign governments, including from the UK, defeating or limiting the impact of their efforts.
The UK said it was playing a leading role, helping the Ukrainian government respond to cyber attacks and protect its networks and classified information.
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The British support drew on the expertise of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ.
Lindy Cameron, chief executive of the NCSC, said in a statement her centre “is proud to have played a part in supporting Ukraine’s cyber defenders.
They have mounted an impressive defence against Russian aggression in cyberspace, just as they have done on the physical battlefield”.
Mr Docherty played down any suggestion that the UK’s decision to help Ukraine online could be seen by Russia as a direct intervention in the war.
“I think that’s a perfectly honourable and not an escalatory thing to do,” he said.
Instead, he likened it to the physical, but indirect, support Britain has given in providing the Ukrainian military with weapons such as artillery and anti-tank missiles.
“It’s the Ukrainians at the forefront of the fight in terms of defending their homeland and… we provided some of the materiel and expertise to allow them to do that very, very efficiently.”
James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, said: “The UK’s support to Ukraine is not limited to military aid – we are drawing on Britain’s world-leading expertise to support Ukraine’s cyber defences.
“Together, we will ensure that the Kremlin is defeated in every sphere: on land, in the air and in cyber space.”
The UK has also given hardware and software to bolster Ukraine’s cyber defences, including firewalls to prevent attacks taking hold and protection against denial of service attacks, to ensure people can still access vital information and services.
In addition, the support involves forensic capabilities so cyber analysts in Ukraine are better able to understand who attacked them and how.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.
The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”
Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.
The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.
Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.
CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”
Glasgow has been a city crying out for solutions to a devastating drugs epidemic that is ravaging people hooked on deadly narcotics.
We have spent time with vulnerable addicts in recent months and witnessed first-hand the dirty, dangerous street corners and back alleys where they would inject their £10 heroin hit, not knowing – or, in many cases, not caring – whether that would be the moment they die.
“Dying would be better than this life,” one man told me.
It was a grim insight into the daily reality of life in the capital of Europe’s drug death crisis.
Scotland has a stubborn addiction to substances spanning generations. Politicians of all persuasions have failed to properly get a grip of the emergency.
But there is a new concept in town.
From Monday, a taxpayer-funded unit is allowing addicts to bring their own heroin and cocaine and inject it while NHS medical teams supervise.
A dirty needle thrown less than 100 metres from the new injection centre
It may be a UK-first but it is a regular feature in some other major European cities that have claimed high success rates in saving lives.
Glasgow has looked on with envy at these other models.
One supermarket car park less than a hundred metres from this new facility is a perfect illustration of the problem. An area littered with dirty needles and paraphernalia. A minefield where one wrong step risks contracting a nasty disease.
Drugs paraphernalia in a supermarket car park in Glasgow, near the new facility
It is estimated hundreds of users inject heroin in public places in Glasgow every week. HIV has been rife.
The new building, which will be open from 9am until 9pm 365 days a year, includes bays where clean needles are provided as part of a persuasive tactic to lure addicts indoors in a controlled environment.
There is a welcome area where people will check in before being invited into one of eight bays. The room is clinical, covered in mirrors, with a row of small medical bins.
Clean needles are provided to lure addicts to inject in a controlled environment
There are eight bays users can inject in
We were shown the aftercare area where users will relax after their hit in the company of housing and social workers.
The idea is controversial and not cheap – £2.3m has been ring-fenced every year.
The aftercare area
Read more: ‘Dying would be better than my £1,000 a month heroin addiction’
Authorities in the city first floated a ‘safer drug consumption room’ in 2016. It failed to get off the ground as the UK Home Office under the Conservatives said they would not allow people to break the law to feed habits.
The usual wrangle between Edinburgh and London continued for years with Downing Street suggesting Scotland could, if it wanted, use its discretion to allow these injecting rooms to go ahead.
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The stalemate ended when Scotland’s most senior prosecutor issued a landmark decision that it would not be in the public interest to arrest those using such a facility.
One expert has told me this new concept is unlikely to lead to an overall reduction in deaths across Scotland. Another described it as an expensive vanity project. Supporters clearly disagree.
The question is what does success look like?
The big test will be if there is a spike in crime around the building and how it will work alongside law enforcement given drug dealers know exactly where to find their clients now.
It is not disputed this is a radical approach – and other cities across Britain will be watching closely.
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