WIREDGOV

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon yesterday visited RAF Wyton, home to the Joint Forces Intelligence Group, which is part of Defence Intelligence.

The Defence Secretary met some of the 1,000 individuals who work at RAF Wyton, where intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance from across Defence and a wide range of public sources is coordinated and analysed. The work carried out by these individuals towards the identification of current and emerging threats is crucial in enabling Government to develop the appropriate responses to protect the UK and its allies.

Defence Intelligence, which operates from a number of sites around the UK, is also tasked to tackle the online threats that the UK faces. These threats can be found in cyberspace and on social media, and this visit follows last month’s Cyber Symposium in Paris where Defence Secretary Michael Fallon stressed that the dangers of activity occurring in cyberspace are only likely to grow, citing the Russian use of cyber in order to gain military advantage and Isil’s efforts to radicalise individuals and spread misinformation.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

There is no escaping the fact that the scale, diversity and complexity of the challenges all nations, governments and industries face with Cyber is getting bigger.

As I have said before, much of the 2010 SDSR analysis holds good. We were right to identify cyber as key areas for investment.

Next month’s SDSR will review where Cyber sits in the overall prioritisation of security threats and responses. However we are clear that we must continue to invest in our cyber defence capabilities.