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• To detect, disrupt and deter our adversaries.
Through these strategies, we will work with other Governments and in
partnership with industry to ensure that cyberspace is governed by rules and norms
that enhance collective security, promote democratic values and support global
economic growth, and counter the spread of digital authoritarianism. The United
Kingdom will uphold the rule of law in cyberspace: embodying responsible State
behaviour and shaping international best practice, and incentivizing compliance,
deterring attacks and holding others to account for irresponsible State behaviour.
Where needed, we will shape the rules so that offensive cybertools are developed and
used responsibly and in accordance with international law.
In addition we will:
• Protect an accessible and interoperable global Internet for future generations.
• Ensure human rights are protected online as they are offline.
• Ensure that transparency and accountability are embedded from the outset in the
design and deployment of new technologies.
• Champion the international flow of data, enabling secure, trusted and
interoperable exchange across borders, while maintaining data protection
standards.
The United Kingdom considers cyberdiplomacy to be a critical element of its
cyberleadership, with a network of officers stretching across six continents. In
addition to our cybersecurity capacity-building programmes, we have initiated crossGovernment dialogues with 20 countries. Through these, we will continue to grow
the partnership to strengthen the case for a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace,
and to respond to and deter State-directed malicious cyberactivity.
We continue to participate in an extensive range of global and regional forums
dedicated to cybersecurity discussions, including both the United N ations Openended Working Group and the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts, the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International
Telecommunication Union and the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise.
The United Kingdom can and does attribute malicious cyberacts to States where
it believes it is in its best interests to do so, and in furtherance of its commitment to
clarity and stability in cyberspace. We continue to consider that the decision to
attribute malicious cyberactivity to a State, and crucially to make that attribution
public, is ultimately a political decision for States. Statements and other relevant
information are available online at www.gov.uk and www.ncsc.gov.uk.
In 2020, the United Kingdom established the National Cyber Force. We are one
of a number of countries that have publicly confirmed that they are developing such
capabilities. The National Cyber Force conducts targeted, responsible offensive
cyberoperations to support the United Kingdom’s national security priorities,
bringing together defence and intelligence capabilities. Used in combination with
diplomatic, economic, political and military capabilities, examples of cyberoperat ions
could include:
• Interfering with a mobile phone to prevent a terrorist from being able to
communicate with their contacts.
• Helping to prevent cyberspace from being used as a global platform for serious
crimes, including fraud and sexual abuse of children.
• Keeping military aircraft of the United Kingdom safe from targeting by weapons
systems.
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