Britain’s cybersecurity chief, Richard Horne, has warned of an alarming increase in hostile cyber activity within the country, revealing a 16% surge in incidents handled in 2024 compared to the previous year.
“Hostile activity in UK cyberspace has increased in frequency, sophistication and intensity,” Horne is expected to state in a speech on Tuesday, according to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). “Actors are increasingly using our technology dependence against us, seeking to cause maximum disruption and destruction.”
The NCSC’s incident management team dealt with 430 cybersecurity incidents in 2024, a rise from 371 in 2023. Of these, 347 cases involved data exfiltration—unauthorised and covert transfer of data from devices—while 20 incidents were related to ransomware attacks. The NCSC, part of Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency, also issued 542 targeted notifications to organisations about cyber incidents impacting them, more than double the 258 issued the prior year.
In its annual review, the NCSC highlighted ransomware as the “most immediate and disruptive” threat to critical infrastructure, including energy, water, transportation, health, and telecommunications. The review also underscored the potential for hackers to leverage AI to enhance the sophistication of their attacks.
Horne is set to warn that the threat level facing the UK is often underestimated, stressing that there is “no room for complacency” regarding state-led threats or the volume of cybercrime risks.
