One of the UK's cyber-defence chiefs has accused Russia of having attacked Britain's media, telecommunications and energy sectors over the past year. Ciaran Martin, chief executive of GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), added that Russia was "seeking to undermine the international system". His comments were made at an event organised by the Times newspaper. Ahead of the speech, the paper reported that one of the attacks had targeted the UK's power supply on election day.
The BBC has sought comment from the Russian Embassy in London.
Why ? They're not going to admit, are they ?
"The prime minister made the point on Monday night - international order as we know it is in danger of being eroded," he said. "This is clearly a cause for concern and the NCSC is actively engaging with international partners, industry and civil society to tackle this threat."
To coincide with its event, the Times also published details of a new study into how Russia used Twitter to influence 2016's Brexit referendum. The research indicates that more than 156,000 Russia-based accounts - many of them automated bots - mentioned #Brexit in original posts or retweets in the days surrounding the vote.
Many were in favour of the UK leaving the European Union, but a minority were pro-Remain. The academics involved believed the posts were seen hundreds of millions of times. One of the researchers told the BBC that social media was providing Russia with a relatively cheap way to spread its propaganda.
He added that some form of regulation of the large social media firms might now be required.
YES, dammit ! And now cue the flurry of rabid, "CENSORSHIP BAD ! FREE SPEECH GOOD !" responses...
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-41997262
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