LONDON — U.K. critical national infrastructure experienced more than 200 cyber incidents during the twelve-month period ending in May, according to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Approximately 75 percent of those incidents were attributed to state-linked actors from hostile nations, including Russia, China, and Iran.

Richard Horne, chief executive of the NCSC, stated that artificial intelligence advances are expected to accelerate cybersecurity threats. He projected this risk to manifest around 2028. The NCSC operates as a component of the GCHQ intelligence agency.

The NCSC defines a cyber incident as an attempt to damage, disrupt or gain unauthorised access to computer systems, networks or devices. U.K. critical national infrastructure includes the nuclear deterrent, power plants, hospitals, and airports.

Horne said in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute, "This contest is not confined to a compact space. It is not like a wrestling match in a closely defined territory, as some have suggested. It is far more akin to a football or basketball game, played across a large field of play, where success depends on how you operate across the entire pitch." He added, "The many vulnerabilities that organisations tolerate today will be exploited in conflict tomorrow. If they are too expensive or hard to fix in peacetime, then they certainly will be in war."

An example of such an incident occurred in 2024 when King's College hospital in London was affected by a ransomware attack. Horne had also indicated in an April address that the U.K. could experience widespread hacktivist attacks if the country becomes involved in a military conflict.