UK says its offensive cyber operations are ‘accountable, precise, and calibrated’
As the role of cyber operations in international statecraft continues to grow, the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Force (NCF) has published a paper arguing that its activities are fundamentally different from those of its adversaries.
In contrast to the “reckless” cyberattacks which U.K. says Russia and China have engaged in — namely the destructive NotPetya and Microsoft Exchange operations — Britain’s offensive hacking activities are designed to be “accountable,” “precise,” and “calibrated,” the NCF explained.
In the paper published on Tuesday, offering the most detailed explanation of Britain’s offensive cyber capability to date, the agency said it was “right that we enable greater transparency and engage with the public more widely than has been done before,” and said doing so was a crucial part of “demonstrating the UK’s commitment to being a responsible and democratic cyber power.”