UK faces increasing cyber threats from Russian hackers and mercenaries.

Russian mercenary groups, sympathetic to Putin, are targeting UK infrastructure through cyber-attacks as the war in Ukraine continues. The UK's Chancellor of Cybersecurity has warned that these groups are ideologically motivated and operate differently from traditional cyber-criminals. Powerful state actors, including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, are increasingly turning to sophisticated spyware technology that targets not only national infrastructure but also Western democratic values. Over the last year, a third of all UK businesses and charities have been the target of a cyber-attack, costing the UK billions each year. The UK has launched sanctions against Russian cyber-criminals and has launched a "transformational" system to combat cyber-crime.