Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how the UK is holding states accountable for disruptive cyber operations against democratic institutions.

The UK and its allies have a wide range of levers available to respond to malicious cyber activity and deter disruptive cyber operations against democratic institutions. Depending on the context, these can involve measures such as cyber resilience, law enforcement action, sanctions, and diplomatic intervention. The UK Government has publicly attributed those responsible for a range of destructive, disruptive, and destabilising cyber-attacks, including actors in North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran.

The UK's deterrence strategy forms part of our wider objective to define responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. The UK recognises states' right to develop sovereign offensive cyber abilities, alongside the obligation to ensure that use is necessary, proportionate, and governed in line with international law.