Information concerning the physical security of major British intelligence and military sites, including a nuclear submarine base, has been published online, it was revealed last night, following a major Russia-affiliated cyber attack.
West Midlands-based Zaun, which makes fences and perimeter security measures for high-risk sites, was hacked last month by cyber terrorist group LockBit.
They released thousands of pages of data which could help criminals get into the HMNB Clyde nuclear submarine base, the Porton Down chemical weapon lab and a GCHQ listening post.
Earlier this year, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden warned Express.co.uk that online pro-Russian mercenaries, essentially a cyber version of the Wagner Group, were “pushing back harder against” Britain than ever before in response to the UK’s alliance with Ukraine.
Chair of the defence committee Tobias Ellwood MP described the latest attack by LockBit as further evidence that the war in Ukraine is “no longer limited to the traditional battlefield” and includes not just Ukraine but her allies, such as the UK.
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Thousands of pages of documents containing information on perimeter fencing around these key security and military sites were stolen and published on the dark web by LockBit, which can be accessed using special software.
Information about high-security prisons and a military site key to our cyber defences was also stolen in the raid.
While the incident is incomparable to a cyber attack on the security and military establishments Zaun was hired to physically protect, the publication of thousands of pages of documents is both provocative and an effective advertisement of LockBit’s hacking intentions.
Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Defence committee, questioned how the attack “affected the ability of our defence establishment to continue functioning without attack”.
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He said that such an incident was “no doubt related to” the UK’s continued support for Ukraine.
He added that it was another example of how “conflict is no longer limited to the traditional battlefield” but extended into the “digital domain”.
Mr Dowden, speaking in April while the war in Ukraine was contained to its borders, as well as drone attacks in Russian territory, the cyber war related to the conflict was a “global” one.
Referring to LockBit, he said: “They are trying to hack us into giving up support for Ukraine. This is the nature of modern conflict.”
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Last night, Labour MP Kevan Jones, who sits on the Commons Defence Select Committee, told The Mirror: “This is potentially very damaging to the security of some of our most sensitive sites.
“The Government needs to explain why this firm’s computer systems were so vulnerable. Any information which gives security arrangements to potential enemies is of huge concern.”
LockBit is described as the world’s most dangerous hacking gang and key suspects are Mikhail Matveev, who is in the FBI’s Most Wanted list and has alleged ties to Russian organised crime.
The group has conducted attacks on 1,400 global targets, including a £66 million blackmail attempt on the Royal Mail in January last year.
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