Britons told to stockpile food and water in case of Russian cyberattack
This is just a drill.
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- The UK will urge households to stockpile food and water as part of major home defense drills.
- Officials say the campaign aims to prepare people for cyberattacks, severe weather, or disruptions to power and communications.
- The warning follows UK and EU sanctions against Russian cyber networks and allegations of attacks on European infrastructure.
- Security concerns include possible threats to undersea cables that carry UK communications, military data, and electricity links.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
The UK government will urge the public to stock up on food and water in case of a cyberattack, as the country conducts large-scale home defense drills.
The public resilience campaign is part of the Operation Albiston Shadow, the largest home defense exercise in decades.
The drill is aimed at preparing the public “should the worst happen,” including emergencies such as a cyberattack from Russia or severe weather, according to the Independent.
Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, said the campaign will help the public take “small but important steps” to be ready for emergencies and disruptions that could affect access to power, water, or phone signals.
The public resilience campaign comes amid rising geopolitical tensions, as Russia’s war against Ukraine entered its fifth year in February.
UK spy chief Anne Keast-Butler recently warned Moscow is “relentlessly targeting Britain’s infrastructure and democracy.”
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The UK and the EU announced a new package of sanctions targeting Russian cyber networks on July 14th, 2026.
The move follows accusations that Russian agencies were behind the attempted cyberattack on Poland’s energy grid, which, if successful, could have left 500,000 citizens without electricity in the depths of winter.
In addition, Russia is suspected of being behind a series of DHL parcel fires in 2024. Containing explosives that were set off by electronic timers, parcels were sent from Lithuania to the UK and Poland. One parcel detonated at a DHL depot near Birmingham
Lord Peach, the former chief of the defense staff, told the Independent in June that UK households should build up stockpiles of food, water, and cash, warning that it was time to take threats the UK faces from Moscow seriously.
There is also growing concern that Russia could target the UK’s undersea cables connecting the country to the EU.
As these cables carry critical civilian and military communications and electricity, sabotaging them could cause major disruptions across the UK.