Britain's focus on Islamic extremism is masking a prominent threat to national security - Russia
PA Archive/PA Images
In an extended interview with The Guardian newspaper, Parker said while most attention is paid to the threat of Islamic extremism in light of recent attacks in Europe, Russia's use of covert action make it a prominent and serious threat to the United Kingdom.
Parker, who heads the UK's chief security and counter-intelligence service, claimed Russian spies are currently active on British streets, using cyber warfare to infiltrate confidential areas like government policy and military operations.
"It [Russia] is using its whole range of state organs and powers to push its foreign policy abroad in increasingly aggressive ways - involving propaganda, espionage, subversion and cyber-attacks," Parker said.
"Russia is at work across Europe and in the UK today. It is MI5's job to get in the way of that."
Parker's interview with the Guardian is an unprecedented moment in the MI5's history. It's the first time a serving chief has given a newspaper interview in the body's 107-year history. It comes as relations between Russia and the west deteriorate, with the former continuing to bomb the Syrian city of Aleppo in support of President Assad, killing many civilians in the process.
"Russia increasingly seems to define itself by opposition to the west and seems to act accordingly," Parker added.
"You can see that on the ground with Russia's activities in Ukraine and Syria. But there is high-volume activity out of sight with the cyber-threat."
In one of the key quotes of the interview, Parker added (emphasis ours):
"Russia has been a covert threat for decades. What's different these days is that there are more and more methods available."
Chancellor Philip Hammond is set to announce plans on how he will carry out the Tory government's pledge to spend an additional £1.9 billion on protecting UK websites from hackers and other cyber threats.
The scheme, called the National Cyber Security Strategy, was first announced last year by George Osborne, when he served as chancellor in David Cameron's government.
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- 9 health benefits of drinking sugarcane juice in summer
- 10 benefits of incorporating almond oil into your daily diet
- From heart health to detoxification: 10 reasons to eat beetroot
- Why did a NASA spacecraft suddenly start talking gibberish after more than 45 years of operation? What fixed it?
- ICICI Bank shares climb nearly 5% after Q4 earnings; mcap soars by ₹36,555.4 crore
- Nothing Phone (2a) blue edition launched
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market