- Foreign Secretary will announce £15m funding to help
Commonwealth countries defend themselves against cyber-attacks.
-
will tell Foreign Ministers at
a meeting in Rwanda today [24 June] that the Commonwealth has a
vital role to play as a counterweight to malign actors.
- Cyber a top security challenge for Commonwealth countries,
with attacks in cyber-space and threats to sovereignty and
freedom on the rise across the world.
The UK is providing a £15 million package of support to
Commonwealth countries over the next three years in the face of
the growing threat from cyber-attacks.
The Foreign Secretary hopes to boost Commonwealth nations’
resilience to rising threats in cyberspace, empowering the bloc
to defend themselves.
Cyber is among the top security challenges that Commonwealth
countries face today, with 87% of organisations having
experienced an attempt to exploit their existing vulnerabilities
in cyberspace.
The Foreign Secretary will tell Foreign Ministers during a
meeting today at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
(CHOGM) in Rwanda that an expanded Commonwealth, united behind
its shared values is a vital counterweight to the growing threat
of malign activity.
She will say that alongside other networks like the G7 and NATO,
the Commonwealth can and should play a vital role in challenging
autocratic regimes and advancing freedoms around the world.
The UK’s renewed package of cyber support for the Commonwealth
will involve sharing cyber deterrence expertise, building
insights into understanding threats, assessing capability and
governing effectively to enable agile responses.
And it will support the voices of smaller countries to ensure
that we are, collectively, able to stand up as a powerful voice
behind our shared values of sovereignty, democracy and good
governance in cyber space.
Foreign Secretary said:
“In an increasingly geopolitical world the Commonwealth is a
vital and expanding alliance united behind values of democracy,
human rights and sovereignty.
“The Commonwealth are collectively taking action to bolster
our resilience and security, including in cyberspace, to stand up
against autocratic regimes that challenge our freedoms.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a stark warning to us all
that our sovereignty and security is increasingly under threat
around the world and in cyberspace.”
The new UK funding will maximise the influence of every
Commonwealth member state in vital international negotiations on
cyber governance. It will support the voices of smaller countries
to ensure that we are, collectively, able to stand up as a
powerful voice behind our shared values of sovereignty, democracy
and good governance in cyber space.
Tailored projects with Commonwealth countries will work to
empower smaller states and a Commonwealth Cyber Governance
network will bring together experts from across the organisation,
in addition to increasing in-country cyber attaches and UN
Women-in-Cyber Fellows.
Collectively, it will make it harder for malign states to meddle
in domestic cyber space across the Commonwealth.
The last CHOGM was held in the UK in 2018, with the UK now
handing over the chairing role to Rwanda.
ENDS
Notes to editors
-
Check Point Software’s
2022 Security Report showed that 87% of organizations have
experienced an attempted exploit of an already-known, existing
vulnerability.
- The UK made cyber security and resilience a priority for the
whole Commonwealth during its period as Chair-in-Office in the
last four years. Since CHOGM 2018, every member state has taken
steps to improve their cyber security competence and capability.
A Commonwealth statement in 2020 called for greater coordination
on cyber security and the 2018 Commonwealth Cyber Declaration,
agreed by all member states, has strengthened an inclusive and
rights-based cyberspace that supports economic and social
development.
- UK funding has helped civil society
groups in Belize, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Ghana to engage with
national governments and contribute toward national cyber
security strategies.
- Ransomware has become the most
significant cyber threat facing the UK this year, with reports of
attacks having more than doubled since 2020.
