The UK cannot afford to lag behind China as a technological power, one of Britain’s top security chiefs will say today.
China is aiming for technological supremacy rather than parity, Lindy Cameron, head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), will tell a conference in Belfast.
It will be the strongest intervention so far from Ms Cameron, who has led the organisation, an arm of GCHQ, for two and a half years.
“Bluntly we cannot afford not to keep pace, otherwise we risk China becoming the predominant power in cyberspace,” she will say, according to The Times.
According to the paper, Ms Cameron will warn the CyberUK annual conference in Belfast of the increasing threat from China, amid concerns about the country’s growing technological prowess.
She is expected to highlight concerns such as a potential increase in data breaches, phishing attacks and the spread of disinformation.
“We cannot secure future technology without addressing the epoch-defining challenge that we are facing: the dramatic rise of China as a technology superpower”, Ms Cameron is expected to say.
“China has identified several existing and emerging technologies as being vital to its future national security. And it has an aspiration to become a world leader in setting technological standards. So we need to be clear: China is not only pushing for parity with Western countries, it is aiming for technical supremacy. It will use its tech strength as a lever to achieve a dominant role in global affairs.
“What does this mean for cybersecurity? … Some may dismiss this as far-fetched or scaremongering, but it is a risk I would urge you to take seriously. This is simply not something about which any of us can be complacent.”
Ms Cameron took up her post in October 2020.
Having begun her career in the private sector, she was previously a director-general in the Northern Ireland Office and at the Department for International Development (DFID).
It comes after Rishi Sunak said last month that China “is a country with fundamentally different values to ours” and “represents a challenge to the world order” which the UK must take seriously.
The Prime Minister was speaking to the BBC in California, during talks with the US and Australia over details of a deal to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.
The AUKUS pact was signed in 2021 as part of an effort to counter Chinese military power in the Indo-Pacific region.
