UK PM Boris Johnson will combine his dual goals of tackling the North-South divide & equipping the UK to meet increasingly complex security challenges by building a ‘cyber corridor’ along the electorally crucial ‘Red Wall’ seats in the Midlands & the North which gave him his House of Commons majority.
A review of the country’s future defence requirements, launched today, Tues. Mar. 16, points to China in particular as posing the most serious geo-political threat to Britain, through espionage, hacking & the ‘soft power’ of its economic expansionism.
Govt. Investment
The PM has been keen to direct new Govt. investment – including flagship infrastructure projects & Whitehall depts. – outside London, as part of his ‘levelling up’ agenda
Manchester has the fastest-growing digital sector in Europe, with 15% of its population employed in the technology sector
The HQ of the National Cyber Force (NCF) – created in 2020 to conduct targeted online operations against terrorists, hostile states & criminal gangs – will be placed in the N. of England as part of the ‘cyber corridor’.
GCHQ
The NCF will build on the work of GCHQ, which already has an office in Manchester, by merging intelligence & defence specialists under a single, unified command.
Its experts will specialise in areas such as the interruption of hacking attempts by foreign powers, preventing terrorists from communicating with their contacts & protecting military aircraft from targeted weapons systems.
‘Global Britain in a Competitive Age’
The 100-page review – ‘Global Britain in a Competitive Age’ – was launched by Mr Johnson in a Commons statement this morning (Tues.). With 4 chapters on ‘science & technology’, ‘the open international order of the future’, ‘security & defence’, & ‘building resilience at home & overseas’.
It was described by a Whitehall source ‘the most comprehensive articulation of a foreign policy & national security approach published by a British Govt. in decades.
General Sir Patrick Sanders – who oversees cyber, Special Forces & intelligence as Head of Strategic Command – explained that the UK needed to focus more on algorithms & cyber-warfare rather than the size of the military & conventional weaponry, with artificial intelligence becoming the nation’s modern deterrence.
China & Russia
Sanders observed that China & Russia had changed the terms of the international order. He added: ‘Both are gaining a decisive advantage in information age military technologies. The consequence has been a succession of strategic surprises, the erosion of strategic advantage & the loss of initiative.
‘Unchecked, it is not unthinkable that we will find ourselves vulnerable in time to a fait accompli, where as a nation we have capitulated without a shot being fired,’ he told The Times.
Cyber Power
The PM has been anxious to direct new UK Govt. investment – including flagship infrastructure projects & Whitehall departments – outside London, as part of his ‘levelling up’ agenda.
Mr Johnson commented ‘Cyber power is revolutionising the way we live our lives & fight our wars, just as air power did 100 years ago.
‘We need to build up our cyber capability so we can grasp the opportunities it presents, while ensuring those who seek to use its powers to attack us & our way of life are thwarted at every turn.’
https://www.cybernewsgroup.co.uk/virtual-conference-april-2021/
