The head of MI6 has warned Russia and other rogue states to not underestimate the UK’s determination and capabilities.
Alex Younger called for a new era of spying amid emerging threats.
Speaking to students at the University of St Andrews, Younger warned of threats from enemies who regard themselves as being in a state of “perpetual confrontation” with the UK and describe how intelligence agencies are developing a “fourth generation” of spying.
The UK has been facing a major increase in the number of cybercrimes in the past year according to the annual report of the National Cyber Security Centre.
Alex Younger’s speech comes after a shameless and daring attack on a retired double agent in England stoked fears about Russian covert activity abroad.
In his second major speech since becoming head of the Secret Intelligence Service four years ago, in a direct appeal to students, Mr Younger called for the need for diversity in MI6.
“I want to speak to young people who have never seen themselves in MI6,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where you are from. If you want to make a difference and you think you might have what it takes, then the chances are that you do have what it takes, and we hope you will step forward.”
University of St Andrews also showed their support to this statement by quoting him on Twitter
‘It doesn’t matter where you are from. If you want to make a difference and you think you might have what it takes, then the chances are that you do have what it takes, and we hope you will step forward.’ – Alex Younger pic.twitter.com/K1190t2kbo
— University of St Andrews (@univofstandrews) December 3, 2018
The statement also discussed the importance of Growth Younger said: “We just need to be out there, in the places where there are threats from terrorists. We need to be upstream of the threats. But it’s not just a numbers game
We are never going to succeed through size. We will remain a small organisation and we have always punched above our weight. Intelligence is not an infantry battle.”
Cybercrime has been an ongoing issue for years now as virtual offences more likely to go undetected than real life robberies.
The annual number of offences in England and Wales was last estimated at 6.9 million in 2014.
Figures released March 2016 showed up to 4 million cybercrimes happening every year which is continuing to be a potential problem for the home secretary who has repeatedly claimed the crime is falling.
Experts say online crime is here to stay but remaining security savvy might just keep it from your virtual door.