Public to be told how to prepare for cyber-attack and weather emergencies

Key Points:

• The UK government will launch a public awareness campaign later this year to encourage citizens to take small but important steps to prepare for food or water shortages caused by cyber-attacks or severe weather.
• Cabinet Office Minister Darren Jones announced plans for the largest UK home defence exercise in several decades, named Operation Albiston Shadow, to test the nation's readiness for hybrid attacks.
• The national risk register has been updated with seven new risks, including cyber-attacks on water infrastructure and digital resilience failures like the global CrowdStrike outage, while the risk of disruption to Russian gas supplies has been removed due to reduced reliance.
• The government emphasized the importance of continuous risk evaluation in light of recent challenges such as climate extremes, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, emerging diseases, and rapid AI developments impacting security and the economy.
• Jones highlighted that while the government is well prepared, public participation is crucial to maintaining safety during emergencies affecting power, water, communication, and food access.