Security News

UK and Germany Join Forces to Counter Russian Cyberattacks and Sabotage

The Register · 8 Oct 2026

Key Takeaway Even though this pact is between governments, it is a reminder that businesses of any size can be caught up in state-linked threats, so keep your systems patched, your staff alert to phishing and your incident response plan up to date.

Britain and Germany have announced a partnership to counter cyberattacks and sabotage, with Russia the main concern. Under the arrangement, announced ahead of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's first face-to-face meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the two countries will share information and coordinate efforts to monitor, deter and disrupt hostile activity, including threats to critical infrastructure.

Burnham said attacks on infrastructure, businesses and democracies "are not a distant threat" and that they "reach into people's homes and workplaces." The partnership builds on the Kensington Treaty, signed in July 2025 and ratified on Thursday, which already committed both countries to closer work on defence, cybersecurity, technology and economic security.

The announcement is light on detail. It names no agencies, specifies no extra funding and does not explain how hostile operations will be disrupted. It arrives amid sharper warnings from European intelligence agencies: Germany's foreign intelligence chief, Martin Jaeger, said this week that the confrontation with Russia had entered a more dangerous phase, and German authorities have blamed Moscow for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport in August.

Summarised by CISO AI from The Register, written with Claude Sonnet 5.5. We link back to every original so you can read it yourself.