A British official warns of the threat of Russian-allied groups to cybersecurity

British Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said in a speech at a cybersecurity conference that Russian-allied groups threaten his country's cyber infrastructure. He noted that cyber crime costs the UK billions of dollars annually.

British Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said on Wednesday that "Russia-allied groups pose cyber threats to the UK's critical infrastructure".

"These adversaries have ideological motives, not financial motives," Dowden added, in a speech delivered at a cybersecurity conference in Belfast, Ireland.

He stressed that "groups allied with Russia, such as the paramilitary Wagner Group, pose cyber threats to the UK's critical infrastructure."

Referring to the latest assessments from the National Cyber ​​Security Centre, the British official said: "The most acute country threats in cyberspace continue to come from these usual suspects, which are Russia, China, Iran and North Korea."

“It is estimated that cyber crime costs the UK billions of pounds annually,” Dowden said, citing new figures that 32% of UK businesses and charities suffered a “hack or cyberattack” last year.

Earlier today, the two-day Cyber ​​Security Conference kicked off in Belfast with the aim of holding seminars on “how to strengthen cyber defenses, build resilience against chronic and future threats in a changing global landscape, and ways to secure an open and secure digital future.”