Russian Hacktivists Target UK Online Services, NCSC Issues Warning
The UK National Cyber Security Centre says Russian-aligned hacktivist groups are actively targeting UK online services and organisations with disruptive cyber attacks. The warning highlights growing risk to local government bodies and critical infrastructure, including essential public services and networks.
Rising Disruptive Cyber Activity
On January 19, 2026, the UK’s cybersecurity agency released an advisory noting a sustained campaign by pro-Russian hacktivists aiming to disrupt networks and take websites offline through denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. These disruptions, while often technically straightforward, can still have significant effects on access to services and require notable resources to address.
Local governments and operators of national infrastructure remain primary targets, according to the NCSC statement. The agency urged organisations to review cyber defenses, including strengthening DoS mitigation and preparing to respond to attacks swiftly.
Ideological Drivers Behind Attacks
The NCSC said the activity is driven by ideological motivations tied to perceived Western support for Ukraine, not by direct financial gain. These groups are not formally part of the Russian state but remain aligned with broader Russian interests.
In a related advisory from December 2025, international partners also warned that pro-Russian hacktivist groups have been active across NATO member states and other European countries, targeting both government and private sector organisations.
Impact and Response
The cyber threats noted by the NCSC typically take the form of distributed denial-of-service attacks aimed at overwhelming web services and critical systems. While many of these attacks rely on simpler methods than those used by advanced persistent threat actors, they can still disrupt essential online services and create costly recovery work for affected organisations.
Jonathon Ellison, Director of National Resilience at the NCSC, said these hacktivist operations can prevent people from accessing services they depend on and cause wider downstream impacts. The NCSC encourages organisations to adopt available guidance to improve defenses against DoS and related threats.
Broader UK Cyber Threat Landscape
This alert follows a series of warnings and responses by UK authorities around hostile cyber activity linked to Russian actors. In recent years, the UK has publicly condemned malicious campaigns by Russian intelligence services, including operations that targeted political, media, and telecom infrastructure.
Pro-Russian hacktivist activity gained international attention when security agencies across Europe and North America noted disruptive campaigns against critical infrastructure and local services. Some of the named groups include NoName057(16), Cyber Army of Russia Reborn, Z-Pentest and Sector16, with attacks ranging from temporary website outages to messaging and propaganda campaigns.
Practical Recommendations
Cybersecurity experts emphasise that even low-sophistication attacks can have outsized effects if organisations are unprepared. The NCSC and allied agencies recommend improved traffic monitoring, DoS mitigation services, incident response planning and timely patching to reduce the risk of service disruption.
Given the ongoing nature of these operations, the UK government and its partners are expected to continue updating guidance for both public and private sector defenders to address evolving threat methods.
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