Ambassador Holland updates on the National Security (State
Threats) Act 2026 and the recent UK and EU joint cyber sanctions
package.
"Thank you, Chair.
The United Kingdom has tabled this current issue to put on record
recent decisions taken by the UK Government to strengthen our
response to growing hybrid threats.
The UK defines state threats as overt or covert actions by
foreign governments that fall short of direct armed conflict but
go beyond legitimate diplomacy and expected statecraft. These
actions harm or threaten the safety and interests of the UK or
our allies. Hybrid threats are a subset: typically covert,
deniable, sub-threshold, and often combining multiple methods to
achieve their aims.
First, the UK introduced the National Security (State Threats)
Act 2026 last week. It provides the Home Secretary with new
powers to designate bodies acting on behalf of - or in the
interests of - foreign states to carry out activity that
threatens UK security and the safety of our communities.
Foreign state organisations and state-linked groups involved in
such activity - which can include sabotage, espionage, and
foreign interference - can now be designated.
Designation means it is now a criminal offence to support,
assist, or obtain material benefits from a designated body. This
enables proxy groups - when designated - to be treated in the
same way as foreign intelligence services, and strengthens the
tools available to our law enforcement and intelligence agencies
to disrupt and deter hostile activity.
While giving the UK new powers, the Act also includes strong
safeguards to protect legitimate activity, including humanitarian
engagement and journalism.
The first bodies designated under these new powers will be the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Islamic Movement of
Companions of the Right and Russia's GRU Volunteer Corps. If
approved by Parliament today, those conducting foreign power
threat activity on behalf of one of these organisations could
face significant criminal penalties. For example, an act of
sabotage on behalf of these groups could result in life
imprisonment for the perpetrators.
Second, the UK and EU issued our first joint cyber sanctions
package earlier this week. These sanctions target the Russian
state - including senior GRU officers - and closely associated
criminal and proxy networks responsible for orchestrating
reckless and destructive cyber-attacks across Europe.
The UK package includes 10 individuals who continue to deliver
Russia's information warfare campaigns against Ukraine.
And in addition, the UK has supported the attribution -
coordinated at EU level - of a recent attempted cyber-attack on
Poland's energy infrastructure to Russia's FSB Centre 16. The
attack failed, but it could have left up to 500,000 people
without electricity in winter. This is irresponsible and
destabilising behaviour by the Russian state.
In response, NATO issued a North Atlantic Council statement,
highlighting that the NATO Alliance has further enhanced its
cyber posture by strengthening its framework to integrate cyber
factors into the Alliance's operations, missions and activities.
13. To date, the UK has sanctioned over 3,400 targets behind
Russia's war effort and will continue to work alongside our
allies to bear down on those carrying out hostile activity on
behalf of the Kremlin, spreading dangerouslies and undermining
democratic values.
Mr Chair, hybrid threats are intensifying across our region. It
is time for the OSCE to raise this up the political agenda. The
UK will continue to work with partners to strengthen our
resilience, respond to hybrid threats, and call out malign
behaviour - including in this Council."
