As the risk of cyber attacks increases worldwide, many major governments have announced plans to strengthen their cyber defenses.
In the Indo-Pacific, government representatives from Japan, Australia, India and the United States met recently in Tokyo to discuss Chinese threats to cybersecurity and maritime security in the region.
Meanwhile, the UK has been described as “highly exposed” to cyber threats by the UK government’s Science Minister Peter Kyle (via The Guardian ).
Increasing threats and risks
Kyle blames Britain’s previous Conservative government for weakening the country’s resilience against both cyber attacks and future pandemics.
“Our nation’s resilience has been severely and catastrophically undermined,” he said. “The previous administration’s open war on these areas has thwarted any progress and left our country severely exposed not only to future pandemics but also to cybersecurity challenges.”
A new Cybersecurity and Resilience Bill is due to be introduced in the UK Parliament alongside the AI Bill announced in the recent King’s Speech, but Kyle’s comments follow recent warnings from the National Cyber Security Centre that the UK is falling behind in the ability of countries to launch state-sponsored attacks on the UK’s critical infrastructure.
On the other side of the globe, Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa declared at the Tokyo Summit, “For the region to prosper, we must ensure fundamental stability in the domains of maritime, cyber and space. We, the Quad countries, will protect the foundations of prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and strive to realize an international community of coexistence and co-prosperity.”
Without specifically mentioning China, she said “certain countries” were launching cyber attacks and increasing tensions in “certain regions,” adding, “We, the Quad countries, aim to realize an international community of coexistence and co-prosperity and to safeguard the foundations of prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region” (via The Independent ).
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reaffirmed the US’s determination to combat Chinese activities in the region, including accelerating Chinese rhetoric to forcibly reintegrate Taiwan into the mainland, saying: “We have not lost sight. Rather, we remain resolutely focused on this region that we share.”
