The UK government is well-known for being coy about revealing information on its cyber warfare powers. Therefore, the military official's comments were rather unprecedented. The only acknowledged cyber campaign to date to have been carried out by British forces was aimed shutting down Daesh' internet presence.
The UK has developed offensive cyber warfare capabilities that have the power to destroy national power grids and other such critical infrastructure, according to a military chief.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, who sits at the apex of Britain's Strategic Command, revealed that British military personnel are working closely with their counterparts at the civilian intelligence agency GCHQ on both offensive and defensive cyber weaponry.
The General elaborated that, “national offensive cyber capabilities… can degrade, disrupt and even destroy critical capabilities and infrastructure of those who would do us harm, ranging from strategic to tactical targets.”
“These effects can amplify our forces at sea, in the air or on land and they contribute to deterrence,” he added.
The General was talking at the Ministry of Defence's Cold War-era nuclear bunker before this autumn's much-anticipated integrated defence and security review, which many expect will prioritise investments in new technologies, such as artificial intelligence over traditional military hardware.
The military chief said that the…
