Cyber Attack Attempted at UK MoD?

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Details about a cyberattack that struck the academic arm of the UK Ministry of Defence last March were disclosed. According to a retired military officer, Air Marshal Edward Stringer, an officer in charge at the time, the attack had a “significant” impact on the organization. 

The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom is responsible for teaching and training thousands of military personnel, MoD employees, wider government figures, and overseas students. Courses on offer relate to topics including security, strategy, languages, and information warfare. 

While full attribution is not available as to whom was responsible, news.sky.com reports that China or Russia was “possibly” involved. Iran and North Korea were also floated as potential sources of cyberattack. 

An MoD spokesperson told Sky News: “In March 2021 we were made aware of an incident impacting the Defence Academy IT infrastructure. We took swift action and there was no impact on the wider Ministry of Defence IT network. Teaching at the Defence Academy has continued.”

Stringer said the cyberattack was “significant, but then manageable” – and further prompted the academic institution to ramp up its security posture and network resiliency after accounting for the “operational cost” of dealing with the incident, according to zdnet.com.