The United Kingdom is experiencing an alarming rise in cyber threats, with attacks becoming more frequent, sophisticated, and intense, according to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Richard Horne, Britain's cyber security chief, revealed that the NCSC handled 430 cyber incidents in 2024, marking a 16% increase from the previous year's 371 cases. Among these incidents, 347 involved unauthorized data theft, while 20 were ransomware attacks on UK.
The agency's incident management team issued 542 custom notifications to organizations about cyber incidents affecting them - more than double the 258 notifications sent out the year before.
In his first major speech at the NCSC's London headquarters, Horne emphasized a growing gap between cyber threats and existing defenses. "What has struck me more forcefully than anything else since taking the helm at the NCSC is the clearly widening gap between the exposure and threat we face, and the defences that are in place to protect us," he stated.
Recent attacks have demonstrated the real-world impact of cyber threats. The British Library incident highlighted society's dependence on technology for accessing knowledge, while an attack on Synnovis exposed vulnerabilities in healthcare service access.
Ransomware attacks remain the most immediate threat to critical infrastructure, including energy, water, transportation, health, and telecommunications sectors. The NCSC's annual review also highlighted concerns about hackers potentially exploiting artificial intelligence to develop more sophisticated cyber attacks.
The NCSC, which operates as part of Britain's GCHQ spy agency, called for increased vigilance from both public and private organizations. Horne stressed that cyber security should be viewed as "a business investment, a catalyst for innovation" rather than merely a compliance requirement.
The warning comes amid growing concerns about state-sponsored cyber activities, with Russia and China identified as particularly sophisticated cyber actors. "The defense and resilience of critical infrastructure, supply chains, the public sector and our wider economy must improve," Horne concluded.