UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the country’s national funding body for science and research, has reported a staggering 5.4 million cyber attacks this year — a sixfold increase compared to the previous year.
According to data obtained through freedom of information requests, the majority of these threats were phishing attempts, with 236,400 designed to trick employees into revealing sensitive data. A further 11,200 were malware-based attacks, while the rest were identified as spam or malicious emails.
The scale of these incidents highlights the growing threat faced by both public and private sector institutions. Experts believe the rise of AI has enabled cybercriminals to launch more frequent and sophisticated attacks.
Rick Boyce, chief for technology at AND Digital, warned that the emergence of AI has introduced threats ‘at a pace we’ve never seen before’, calling for a move beyond traditional defences to stay ahead of evolving risks.
UKRI, which is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, manages an annual budget of £8 billion, much of it invested in cutting-edge research.
A budget like this makes it an attractive target for cybercriminals and state-sponsored actors alike, particularly those looking to steal intellectual property or sabotage infrastructure. Security experts suggest the scale and nature of the attacks point to involvement from hostile nation states, with Russia a likely culprit.
Though UKRI cautioned that differing reporting periods may affect the accuracy of year-on-year comparisons, there is little doubt about the severity of the threat.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has previously warned of Russia’s Unit 29155 targeting British government bodies and infrastructure for espionage and disruption.
With other notorious groups such as Fancy Bear and Sandworm also active, the cybersecurity landscape is becoming increasingly fraught.
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