UK Allocates Georgia More Than GBP5 Million to Protect Against Russian Cyberattacks
By Khatia Bzhalava
Friday, July 1, 2022
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced at the NATO Madrid Summit on Wednesday that the UK would allocate Georgia more than GBP5 million of additional funding to protect against Russian cyberattacks. The financial aid that marks the next phase of UK cyber support for Georgia will allow the Georgian National Security Council to deliver their new cyber security strategy – identifying and repelling attacks from those seeking to undermine both Georgian and European security.
“The people of Georgia live every day on the frontline of Russian aggression. Putin cannot be allowed to use Georgia’s sovereign institutions to sharpen the knife of his cyber capability,” said Prime Minister of England Boris Johnson at the NATO Summit.
The statement on the official website of the British government emphasized that Ukraine and Georgia have experienced the terrible consequences of Russian military aggression, both directly on their territories and indirectly through cyber and other attacks, in the last fifteen years. The statement also focuses on a cyberattack case in 2008, when the world’s first coordinated cyberattacks were used to ‘cripple Georgia’s security architecture while Russia carried out its illegal annexation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia’.
As noted in the statement, the UK will also work directly with the Georgian Ministry of Defense to bolster its cyber defenses and capability. The UK bilateral support for Georgia’s cyber security will be complemented by an additional package of tailored support from NATO which will be agreed upon by leaders in Madrid, focusing on increased defense training.
As Johnson noted, the UK has world-leading cyber prowess and the announced support will protect not just Georgia, but also the UK and all other free democracies threatened by Russian hostility.
According to the British government, the National Cyber Security Centre has worked closely with its Georgian counterpart since 2018, providing training and support to improve the country’s cyber capability.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili wrote on Twitter that Georgia extremely values the GBP5 million funding from the UK, “to strengthen Georgia’s resilience to external threats in cyberspace by contributing to both Georgian and European security”. As part of the NATO Madrid Summit, PM Garibashvili met with his British counterpart to discuss the strategic partnership and friendly relations between Georgia and the United Kingdom.
