Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson has announced in Madrid, at the sidelines of NATO Summit, that the UK will further aid Georgia with five million pounds (USD 6 million) to develop its defense capabilities against Russian cyber threats.
“The people of Georgia live every day on the frontline of Russian aggression,” PM Johnson stressed on June 29. “Putin cannot be allowed to use Georgia’s sovereign institutions to sharpen the knife of his cyber capability.”
The British Prime Minister emphasized the support will “protect not just Georgia, but also the UK and all other free democracies threatened by Russian hostility.”
Press release by 10 Downing Street said “Russia has long used Georgia as a testing ground for its cyber capability.” “This began in 2008 when some of the world’s first coordinated cyber attacks were used to cripple the country’s security architecture while Russia carried out its illegal annexation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.”
The new funding will allow the Georgian National Security council to deliver its new cyber security strategy – identifying and repelling attacks from those seeking to undermine both Georgian and European security. “The UK will also work directly with the Georgian Ministry of Defence to bolster their cyber defences and capability,” noted the press release.
The UK funds will be complemented by an additional package from NATO, as agreed by the leaders in Madrid, for defense training, the press note added.
The UK played a key role in exposing a large-scale cyberattack carried out by Russia against Georgia in 2019 when numerous Georgian government and private agency sites were affected.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)