- Prime Minister announces new phase of UK-Georgia cyber
programme at NATO Summit
- UK support will bolster the country’s resistance to attacks
from Russia and elsewhere
- Georgian Prime Minister Garibashvili to attend Summit of NATO
leaders today
Georgia’s
resistance to Russian cyber attacks will be strengthened thanks
to additional security support announced by the Prime Minister at
the NATO Summit today [Wednesday 29th June].
Russia has
long used Georgia as a testing ground for its cyber capability.
This began in 2008 when some of the world’s first coordinated
cyber attacks were used to cripple the country’s security
architecture while Russia carried out its illegal annexation of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
More than £5
million of additional funding announced today marks the next
phase of UK cyber support for Georgia. It will allow the Georgian
National Security council to deliver their new cyber security
strategy – identifying and repelling attacks from those seeking
to undermine both Georgian and European security. The UK will
also work directly with the Georgian Ministry of Defence to
bolster their cyber defences and capability.
The
announcement comes as Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli
Garibashvili addresses the NATO Leaders’ Summit. Prime Minister
Garibashvili and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy are both
addressing the meeting of allies in Madrid. As NATO Enhanced
Opportunities Partners the security of both countries is integral
to the security of NATO and the Euro-Atlantic as a whole.
Both Ukraine
and Georgia have experienced the terrible consequences of Russian
military aggression – both directly in their territories and
indirectly through cyber and other attacks - in the last fifteen
years.
UK bilateral
support for Georgia’s cyber security will be complemented by an
additional package of tailored support from NATO which will be
agreed by leaders in Madrid, focusing on increased defence
training.
Prime Minister
said:
“The
people of Georgia live every day on the frontline of Russian
aggression. Putin cannot be allowed to use Georgia’s sovereign
institutions to sharpen the knife of his cyber
capability.
“The
UK has world-leading cyber prowess and the support announced
today will protect not just Georgia, but also the UK and all
other free democracies threatened by Russian
hostility.”
The National
Cyber Security Centre has worked closely with its Georgian
counterpart since 2018, providing training and support to improve
the country’s cyber capability.
In October
2019 the Government of Georgia, alongside international partners
including the UK’s NCSC called out a large-scale, disruptive
cyber attack carried out against Georgia by the GRU. The attack
affected a range of Georgian web hosting providers and resulted
in websites being defaced, including sites belonging to the
Georgian Government, courts, non-government organisations (NGOs),
media and businesses, and also interrupted the service of several
national broadcasters.
The UK’s
Integrated Review, published last year, set out plans to make the
UK one of the world’s leading democratic cyber plans. In addition
to the National Cyber Security Centre, the National Cyber Force
was established by the Prime Minister to transform the UK’s cyber
capabilities to disrupt adversaries and keep the UK safe.
