‘Russia can turn the lights off’: how the UK is preparing for cyberwar

The onus for combatting a Russian cyberthreat should be on the government and owners of key infrastructure, according to Jamie MacColl, a research fellow in cyber-threats at Rusi. But he adds that the coronavirus pandemic represented a wasted opportunity for the UK to be better prepared for external shocks in the future, even if the prospect of armed conflict, not cyber-attacks, is the more likely reason why people will need to stockpile food, water and cash. “We have just carried on as if there is not a major war in continental Europe,” he said. The key lesson from the Baltic and Scandinavian states, according to MacColl, is to be resilient. “One of the aims of Russian activity below the threshold of war, like cyber-attacks, is to spread fear, panic and discord. The best response to that is to be psychologically resilient and not go out into the street and buy all the toilet roll in Sainsbury’s.”