UK National Cyber Force outlines how it conducts responsible cyber operations

The UK National Cyber Force (NCF) – a partnership between the country’s armed forces and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) – disclosed details about its approach to ‘responsible cyber operations to counter state threats, support military operations, and disrupt terrorists and serious criminals’.

The document outlines that central to NCF’s approach is the ‘doctrine of cognitive effect’ – using techniques that have the potential to sow distrust, decrease morale, and weaken the adversaries’ ability to plan and conduct their activities effectively with the goal of changing their behaviour. This can include preventing terrorist groups from publishing pieces of extremist media online or making it harder for states to use the internet to spread disinformation. NCF’s operations are covert, and the intent is sometimes that adversaries do not realise that the effects they are experiencing are the result of a cyber operation.

‘In an increasingly volatile and interconnected world, to be a truly responsible cyber power, nations must be able to contest and compete with adversaries in cyberspace,’ GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming said. The statement was published alongside a 28-page paper designed ‘to illustrate aspects of how the UK is being a responsible cyber power’. It did not elaborate on the specifics of those operations.