New Cyber Regiment Established by UK Military

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More and more Military Forces have been establishing dedicated cyber organizations. Cyber attacks are as deadly as those faced on the physical battlefield, British MoD said, officially establishing the country’s first dedicated cyber regiment. This is part of the Army’s drive to modernize its response to the growing digital threat posed by potential adversaries.

The British move comes after the US had established a new cyber command in June 2019.

The MoD said the introduction of the regiment comes as a new front line opens up in cyberspace alongside the traditional areas of land, sea and air.

‘As the character of warfare evolves, and the weapons used to fight those wars shift from the industrial to the information age, digital and cyber capabilities are increasingly relied upon to ensure the nation’s security and the safety of our personnel overseas,’ UK government said. 

The 13th Signal Regiment will be responsible for providing defence networks at home and on operations overseas, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. The unit will be responsible for creating ‘digital armour’ around armed forces personnel, allowing commanders and their soldiers to operate online securely.

According to c4isrnet.com, the creation of the unit is part of an ongoing restructuring of the British Army, known as Army 2020 Refine, which includes the creation of a division conducting cyber, electronic warfare, intelligence, information operations and unconventional warfare.

The cyber regiment is built around a core of about 250 specialists and is tasked with combating threats to Army operations overseas and domestically. The new unit will also provide technical support for a hub being set up to test and implement next-generation information capabilities. The new centre will, among other things, be responsible for providing round-the-clock information and analysis, as well as having an offensive capability.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “The specialist unit will provide the basis of the new Army Cyber Information Security Operations Centre, focusing on the protection of Defence’s cyber domain, and it will work with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to provide secure networks for all military communications.”