UK announces centre to counter hostile information attacks

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the creation of a National Centre for Information Defence in his address to the United Nations General Assembly, saying it would detect, attribute and disrupt hostile state information attacks, including campaigns using artificial intelligence and deepfakes. Security chiefs have been asked to establish the centre, which will initially operate from the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet. It is expected to work with intelligence agencies, government departments, police and social media companies. The government has described the initiative as a response to foreign interference and a way to strengthen the country’s resilience to disinformation. Burnham singled out Russia in his speech, alleging that Russian actors use bots, fake websites and falsified media to influence public opinion. He said they had forged the branding of 28 British organisations, including the BBC and universities, and that there was evidence of an attempt to interfere in the 2019 general election. He also said the Kremlin spends about £1.3 billion a year manipulating information. Those claims were made by Burnham in his UN address.