Schools, businesses and communities should be taught to counter cyberattacks, espionage and sabotage conducted by hostile states like Russia, British lawmakers believe
The UK Commons defence committee has called for a new homeland security minister to co-ordinate a “whole of society” response to so-called grey-zone activities which fall short of all-out military conflict.
Tan Dhesi, chairman of the cross-party committee, warned that such threats “bring war to the doorstep” of ordinary citizens.
These can include disinformation campaigns, economic coercion, espionage such as computer hacking, the weaponisation of migration, infrastructure sabotage and assassination.
The committee added that “current grey-zone attacks indicate that Russia already believes it is in an existential struggle with the West”.
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Russia and China have been accused of trying to manipulate public discourse around western elections using “bot farms” that sow discord online. The Kremlin also allegedly sanctions attacks on vital undersea cables connecting European countries, and has repeatedly poisoned people on British soil.
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Dhesi said: “Our adversaries have purposefully blurred the line between peace and war. Grey-zone threats pose a particularly insidious challenge: they unsettle the fabric of our day-to-day lives and undermine our ability to respond.
“These attacks do not discriminate; they target the whole of our society and so demand a whole of society response, in which we all must play our part. We must now assume that any vulnerability will be exploited against us. The industries and technologies we rely on most are clear targets for hostile states.”
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Nordic nations are developing comprehensive “total defence” strategies that integrate military and civilian capabilities to address grey-zone threats. These include strengthening their armed forces and improving intelligence gathering, but also enhancing civil preparedness.
In Finland, pupils are given lessons on detecting disinformation in primary schools. Denmark, Sweden and Norway have also distributed guides to help their populations prepare for and respond to disruptions such as cyberattacks and economic coercion.
The Commons committee said that the Ministry of Defence should do “far more” engagement with wider society “both public and private — for example, critical national industries, schools and communities — to help generate a dialogue around those threats to the UK and build consensus around a common response”.
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The UK and allies should also do more to protect seabed cables and infrastructure, MPs added, including by reinforcing the bows of new Royal Navy destroyers to allow them to operate more effectively in the Arctic.
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