Russia is the only nation with the "technical means, operational experience and motive" for the Salisbury nerve agent attack on a former spy and his daughter, Britain has said.

While Russia's London ambassador Alexander Yakovenko said the UK has not produced any evidence to support its claims about the incident, here are five reasons the UK thinks it highly likely Russia was responsible.

Novichoks, which have been identified as the nerve agent used in the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, according to the UK's National Security Adviser Sir Mark Sedwill.

In a letter to Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today Sir Mark said Russia continued its chemical weapons programme after the Soviet Union's collapse and described as "unlikely" any suggestion that Novichoks could be made and deployed by terrorist groups, especially at such high purity.

2 - Novichoks have been tested by the Russians on door handles

The highest concentrations of the nerve agent were discovered on the front door handle at Mr Skripal's house. Sir Mark said Russia had, in the 2000s, developed a programme investigating how to deliver Novichoks, which included applying them to door handles.

In the last 10 years Russia has made and stockpiled small quantities of the nerve agent under its chemical weapons programme, Sir Mark said.

Russian president Vladimir Putin "probably" approved the killing of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, a public inquiry in the UK concluded.

The dissident Russian spy died after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium-210.

In the years since, there have been a number of suspected Russian state-sponsored assassinations, Sir Mark said.

5 - Sergei Skripal, as a former spy, may have been viewed as a legitimate target

Mr Skripal was convicted in his home country for selling secrets to the British and was freed in an exchange of captured spies between the US and Russia eight years ago.

He and his daughter had been spied on by Russian intelligence agencies for at least the past five years, Sir Mark said.

He said it is "highly likely" some defectors are still seen as "legitimate targets for assassination".</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming said it was the first time such an attack had been carried out

The UK has conducted a "major offensive cyber-campaign" against the Islamic State group, the director of the intelligence agency GCHQ has revealed.

The operation hindered the group's ability to co-ordinate attacks and suppressed its propaganda, former MI5 agent Jeremy Fleming said.

It is the first time the UK has systematically degraded an adversary's online efforts in a military campaign.

Mr Fleming made the remarks in his first public speech as GCHQ director.

"The outcomes of these operations are wide-ranging," he told the Cyber UK conference in Manchester.

"In 2017 there were times when Daesh [an alternative name for Islamic State] found it almost impossible to spread their hate online, to use their normal channels to spread their rhetoric, or trust their publications."

Mr Fleming said much of the cyber-operation was "too sensitive to talk about", but had disrupted the group's online activities and even destroyed equipment and networks.

"This campaign shows how targeted and effective offensive cyber can be," he added.

But Mr Fleming said the fight against IS was not over, because the group continued to "seek to carry out or inspire further attacks in the UK" and find new "ungoverned spaces to base their operations".

'Blurring boundaries'

Mr Fleming also criticised Russia over what he called "unacceptable cyber-behaviour" that was a "growing threat" to the UK and its allies.

He recalled the NotPetya ransomware attack on Ukraine last year, which eventually spread across the world. The UK and US later said the Russian military were behind the attack, a claim that Moscow denied.

"They're not playing to the same rules," Mr Fleming said. "They're blurring the boundaries between criminal and state activity."

He said the use of a nerve agent on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury was "stark and shocking", and demonstrated "how reckless Russia is prepared to be".

The UK has said Moscow was "culpable" for the attack, but Russia denies any any involvement.

"The robust response from the UK and from the international community shows the Kremlin that illegal acts have consequences. And it looks like our expertise on Russia will be in increasing demand," he said.

Following the speech, the chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, Ciaran Martin, told the BBC the Notpetya case was also an example of the Russian recklessness mentioned by Mr Fleming.

Asked if the disclosures about offensive cyber-actions were a veiled warning to Russia, Mr Martin said sometimes the best form of defence is defence.

Mr Fleming went on to describe some of GCHQ's other goals, which include tracking down people who use the dark web to distribute child sex abuse images.

Cyber has created a new landscape for attackers and defenders, he said, and the challenges were "vast" but were being met by a strong and lawful GCHQ.

On Wednesday, Mr Fleming announced a new GCHQ base is to open in Manchester, hoping to draw "tech savvy recruits".</s>Jeremy Fleming, the director of GCHQ, said that the Salisbury nerve agent attack "demonstrates how reckless Russia is prepared to be".

Mr Fleming, who has worked in intelligence for over two decades and was the deputy director-general of MI5 before joining GCHQ, said: "We must not, and have not, forgotten the old foes."

He said the attack on Yulia and Sergei Skripal by a military-grade nerve agent in Salisbury was "a sobering thought" and showed "how comfortable [Russia is] at putting ordinary lives at risk".

He went on to say that Russia is "not playing to the same rules... They're blurring the boundaries between criminal and state activity."

:: UK and allies say Russia behind NotPetya attack

The Salisbury nerve agent attack "demonstrates how reckless Russia is prepared to be," said Mr Fleming, who admitted that the Government has monitored and countered the "growing threat" of Russia "for over 20 years".

Yulia Skripal has turned down an offer of help from the Russian Embassy and told her outspoken cousin not to contact her.

In response, the Russian Embassy in London has speculated that Ms Skripal's statement was fraudulent and created by the Metropolitan Police - a consistent tactic by the Kremlin to avoid addressing questions about its illicit activities.

Speaking at the National Cyber Security Centre's CyberUK event in Manchester, Mr Fleming opened by paying tribute to those affected by the terror attack at Manchester Arena last year.

"I'm sure we can all recall the moment when we realised that this brilliant city, known for its tolerance and inclusivity, was attacked by someone who had neither," Mr Fleming said.

He applauded the first responders that night and the staff at the security and intelligence agencies who put in long hours in the days and weeks following it.

Mr Fleming also praised the cyber actions against extremists in the Middle East, saying that targeted strikes online had "systematically and permanently degraded" systems linked to Islamic State, which he referred to as Daesh.

"Much of this is too sensitive to talk about in detail, but I can tell you that GCHQ, in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, has conducted a major offensive cyber campaign against Daesh.

"These operations have made a significant contribution to coalition efforts to suppress Daesh propaganda, hindered their ability to coordinate attacks, and protected coalition forces on the battlefield."</s>In his first public speech as director of British spy agency GCHQ, Jeremy Fleming called out Russia's "unacceptable cyber behavior," amidst rising tensions between Western allies and the Kremlin in Syria and beyond. Speaking at the CyberUK event in Manchester, U.K., on Thursday, Fleming said recent events had been "particularly stark and shocking," pointing to the use of a nerve agent on a former Russian spy and his daughter on British soil.

He said the poisoning of the Skripals, for which Russia has denied culpability, was a sign of how "reckless" the Kremlin was willing to be and how comfortable it was "putting ordinary lives at risk." From an online perspective, Fleming said the U.K. would continue to respond to malicious cyber activity and would "attribute where we can."

The GCHQ chief pointed to the recent outbreak of the NotPetya ransomware, which spread out from initial targets in Ukraine to hit global businesses last year, as a sign of Russia's increasing use of its cyber capabilities. "They're not playing to the same rules," he added. "They're blurring the boundaries between criminal and nation state activity."

The U.S. officially blamed Russia for NotPetya earlier this year. The Kremlin denied it was responsible.

Fleming’s comments came a day after President Trump warned on Twitter of stronger action against Russia, over the Kremlin's threat to shoot American missiles out of the sky.

U.K. prime minister Theresa May plans to convene with her Cabinet on Thursday to discuss how to respond to the rising tensions in Syria. She'd previously called out Russia for its aggressive online actions.

Fleming also talked up his agency's work to fight ISIS, also known as Daesh, online. He revealed that GCHQ had worked with the U.K. Ministry of Defence to conduct "a major offensive cyber campaign against Daesh," which he claimed hindered the terror group's ability to coordinate attacks and protected coalition forces on the battlefield.

"Did it work? I think it did," he said, going on to say the work may have even destroyed equipment and networks. "In 2017, there were times when Daesh found it almost impossible... to spread their rhetoric," Fleming added. "This campaign shows how effective targeted offensive cyber can be."</s>The director of the UK surveillance agency GCHQ, Jeremy Fleming, has accused Russia of being “reckless” in mounting a nerve agent attack in Salisbury.



In his first public speech at a cybersecurity conference in Manchester, he went further than Theresa May in pinning the blame on the Kremlin.



Hinting at retaliatory action, he emphasised GCHQ was building a toolkit that included cyber-offensive capability as well as defence.



Fleming said it was the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal was the first time nerve agents had been used in Europe since the second world war.

“It demonstrates how reckless Russia is prepared to be, how little the Kremlin cares of the rules-based order, how comfortable they are at putting ordinary lives at risk,” he said.

Fleming was addressing the final day of a three-day conference organised by the National Cyber Security Centre, the front window of the GCHQ.



It was his first public appearance since becoming head of GCHQ in March last year. Throughout his career in intelligence, he has opted to remain in the shadows until now.



In his speech, he described Russia as an old foe which had never gone away, adding that GCHQ would continue to expose Russia’s “unacceptable behaviour”.



While May described Russia as “highly likely” to be behind the Salisbury attack, the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, went further and blamed Vladimir Putin. Fleming spoke about “the Kremlin”.

Fleming said the UK had lots of adversaries exploiting developments, but turning to Russia, he said: “Alongside these new dangers, we must not and have not forgotten the old foes. For decades, we have collected intelligence on Russian state capabilities, on their intent and posture. And for over 20 years, we’ve monitored and countered the growing cyber threat they pose to the UK and our allies. This has never gone away.

“But nevertheless, recent events are particularly stark and shocking. You’ve heard it said, and I’ll repeat, the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, was the first time a nerve agent had been deployed in Europe since the second world war. That’s sobering.”



He added: “The robust response from the UK and from the international community shows the Kremlin that illegal acts have consequences. And it looks like our expertise on Russia will be in increasing demand. We’ll continue to expose Russia’s unacceptable cyber behaviour, so they are held accountable for what they do, and to help government and industry protect themselves.”



GCHQ has been developing a cyber-offensive capability for well over a decade. Fleming said: “To stay ahead, to match the pace of technological change, we are investing in deploying our own cyber toolkit. It’s one that combines offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, to make the UK harder to attack, better organised to respond when we are, and able to push back if we must.”

Fleming moved to GCHQ from MI5, where he had been deputy director. At MI5, which he joined in 1993 from the private sector, he focused on Northern Ireland, counter-terrorism and cybersecurity, and was involved in organising security for the London Olympics.



Directors of GCHQ have tended to be anonymous but Fleming’s immediate predecessors broke with that tradition.</s>In his first public speech, the U.K.'s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) Director Jeremy Fleming acknowledged that the agency recently coordinated a major cyber offensive operation against ISIS, significantly crippling the terrorist group's ability to recruit and coordinate attacks online.

Speaking at the National Cyber Security Centre's (NCSC) CyberUK 2018 Conference in Manchester today, Fleming also excoriated Russia for its "unacceptable cyber behavior," including its spread of disinformation and fake news and its launch of the June 2017 NotPetya disk wiper malware attack, which targeted Ukraine, but spread worldwide.

Conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, the offensive operation against ISIS -- also known as Daesh -- represents the "first time the U.K. has systematically and persistently degraded an adversary's online efforts as part of a wider military campaign," said Fleming. "Did it work? I think it did."

The campaign featured a number of key objectives, Fleming added, including to "deny service, disrupt a specific on-line activity, deter an individual or a group, or perhaps even destroy equipment and networks," said Fleming.

"In 2017 there were times when Daesh found it almost impossible to spread their hate online, to use their normal channels to spread their rhetoric, or trust their publications," he continued.

In his criticism of Russia, Fleming said that the Kremlin is "blurring the boundaries between criminal and state activity," a charge he also leveled against North Korea, citing its reported use of WannaCry ransomware in a worldwide 2017 attack.

Fleming said that Russia's apparent role in the nerve agent attack earlier this year against former Russian military intelligence officer and U.K. double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia "demonstrates how reckless Russia is prepared to be, how little the Kremlin cares for the international rules-based order, how comfortable they are at putting ordinary lives at risk."

"We'll continue to expose Russia's unacceptable cyber behavior, so they're held accountable for what they do, and to help government and industry protect themselves," he asserted.

Fleming acknowledged how cybercriminal groups have also gained access to increasingly sophisticated cyber tools. "We're seeing criminal gangs using malware such as Zeus and Trickbot or ransomware like Locky and Bitpaymer to make millions of pounds in the U.K. and around the world," said the director. "The attack and the attackers don't care about the size or sector of their victim -- they thrive on the anonymity of the internet to demand payment in cryptocurrencies."

On Wednesday, the NCSC's CyberUK conference featured a speech by UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who said that over the past six months, "the NCSC has responded to 49 incidents associated with Russian cyber groups, some of which have hundreds of potential victims." The NCSC is a unit of GCHQ.</s>LONDON (Reuters) - The poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain with a nerve agent last month shows “how reckless Russia is prepared to be”, the head of Britain’s GCHQ spy agency said on Thursday in a scathing attack on the Kremlin.

In his first public speech since taking over as head of Britain’s eavesdropping intelligence agency last year, Jeremy Fleming said the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, southern England, was “particularly stark and shocking”.

He accused Russia of “not playing to the same rules” and blurring the boundaries between criminal and state activity.

Britain has blamed Russia for the attack on the Skripals while Moscow has denied any involvement. It has led to one of the biggest diplomatic crises between Russia and Western nations since the Cold War.

“You’ve heard it said, and I’ll repeat, the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, was the first time a nerve agent had been deployed in Europe since the Second World War,” Fleming told a cyber conference in Manchester, northern England.

“That’s sobering. It demonstrates how reckless Russia is prepared to be, how little the Kremlin cares for the international rules-based order, how comfortable they are at putting ordinary lives at risk.”

Fleming, a former agent in Britain’s MI5 domestic spy service, said the robust response from Britain and its Western allies, which led to both side expelling scores of diplomats, showed the Kremlin that “illegal acts” had consequences.

Russia has accused Britain of trying to drum up anti-Russian sentiment, suggested the British might have carried out the attack themselves.

It has denied possessing the nerve agent Britain says was used while Russian President Vladimir Putin has said it was nonsense to think that Moscow would have poisoned Skripal and his daughter.

Fleming said Britain had for decades collected intelligence on Russian capabilities and for more than 20 years monitored their cyber threat.

“It looks like our expertise on Russia will be in increasing demand,” he added. “We will continue to expose Russia’s unacceptable cyber behaviour.”

In his speech, Fleming also revealed that GCHQ had carried out a major cyber offensive campaign against Islamic State (IS)militants, the first time, he said, Britain had systematically and persistently degraded an enemy’s efforts as part of wider action.

“These operations have made a significant contribution to the coalition’s efforts to suppress their propaganda, hindered their ability to coordinate attacks and protected coalition forces on the battlefield,” he said.

“In 2017 there were times when Daesh (IS) found it almost impossible to spread their hate online, to use their normal channels to spread their rhetoric, or trust their publications.”</s>Britain's spy chief today tore into Russia for 'endangering lives' around the world amid growing expectation the UK will join in military action against Syria.

Jeremy Fleming, the head of intelligence agency GCHQ, stepped out of the shadows to launch the blistering attack on the Kremlin in his first public speech.

He branded the country 'reckless' and warned it is 'blurring the boundaries between criminal and state activity'.

He said the attempted murder of Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a nerve agent on UK soil shows the 'shocking' actions Russia is willing to take.

Mr Fleming delivered his outspoken attack as the countdown to war in Syria - which is backed by Russia - intensifies.

Theresa May has summoned her Cabinet back to London or a meeting today where they will discuss options to join the US and France in strikes against Assad's regime.

But Russia has threatened to shoot down Western missiles and the ships and submarines they are launched from.

Mr Fleming, an ex MI5 agent, told a security conference in Manchester the attempted murder of the Skripals was 'stark and shocking'.

He said: 'It demonstrates how reckless Russia is prepared to be.

'How little the Kremlin cares for the international rules-based order. How comfortable they are at putting ordinary lives at risk.

'The robust response from the UK and from the international community shows the Kremlin that illegal acts have consequences. And it looks like our expertise on Russia will be in increasing demand.

'We'll continue to expose Russia's unacceptable cyber behaviour, so they're held accountable for what they do, and to help Government and industry protect themselves.'

He warned that the UK will work with its allies like the US to hit back at 'malicious cyber activity' launched by Russia.

And he also warned that the politics of the Middle East - where Iran, Russia, Israel, Turkey, and an array of militant groups and proxies are bogged down in a bloody conflict in Syria - are changing.

He said: 'We will attribute where we can. And whilst we face an emboldened Russia, we also see the tectonic plates in the Middle East moving.

'We see Iran and its proxies meddling throughout the region. The use of chemical weapons in Syria. We're watching the dispersal of Daesh fighters.'

He added: 'The Russian Government widely uses its cyber capabilities.

'Whether that's NotPetya against the Ukraine's financial, energy and government sectors, which eventually spread across the world, or the use of industrial scale disinformation to sway public opinion.

'They're not playing to the same rules ... they're blurring the boundaries between criminal and state activity. And they're not alone.

'We've seen state-sponsored hackers conducting cyber-attacks to avoid sanctions - the release of WannaCry by North Korean cyber actors last year, is a good example.

'Some of their malware tools are highly complex, using extensive infrastructure and advanced tradecraft.'

Mr Fleming said the challenges facing Britain today are 'vast' and the country must be prepared to meet them.</s>Cyber-attacks by British intelligence services have supported operations against the terror group ISIS, in a first-of-its-kind sustained campaign.

The offensive made a significant impact on the operations of the group, also known as Daesh, revealed Jeremy Fleming, director of UK intelligence agency GCHQ.

"GCHQ, in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, has conducted a major offensive cyber campaign against Daesh," he told the National Cyber Security Centre's CYBERUK conference in Manchester.

"These operations have made a significant contribution to the coalition's efforts to suppress their propaganda, hindered their ability to coordinate attacks and protected coalition forces on the battlefield.

"This is the first time the UK has systematically and persistently degraded an adversaries online efforts as part of a wider military campaign," said Fleming, in his first public address since taking up the role of head of GCHQ.

The attacks -- the specific timeframe of which hasn't been revealed -- disrupted the online activity of the terror group.

See also: Cyberwar: A guide to the frightening future of online conflict

"In 2017, there were times where Daesh found it almost impossible to spread their hate online, to use their normal channels, to spread their rhetoric or to trust their publications," said Fleming.

"Of course the job is never done; they will continue to evade and to reinvent. But this campaign shows targeted and effective offensive cyber can be," he added.

While the operation was the first of its kind, GHCQ believes similar tactics and techniques can be used to disrupt the activities of other groups, including terrorist operations, cybercriminal groups, and nation-state actors.

"This technical savviness, this understanding of the potential of cyber-capabilities extends way beyond terrorist groups. The other protagonists are equally familiar: hostile states and criminal gangs," said Fleming.

"They too are using the enabling power the internet and modern communications provide to spread their ideology and to peddle their lies and the harm they cause is on a much larger scale."

Like home secretary Amber Rudd on the previous day of the CYBERUK conference, Fleming directly called out Russian government backed cyber-attacks, including the NotPetya outbreak, against critical infrastructure and attempts to spread disinformation to sway public opinion in recent elections.

"They're not playing to the same rules, they're blurring the boundaries between criminal and state activity," he said -- and warned that Russia isn't alone in this, with the likes of Iran and North Korea also operating in this space.

"We've seen state-sponsored hackers conducting cyber-attacks to avoid sanctions -- the release of WannaCry by North Korean cyber actors last year, is a great example of that. Some of their malware tools are highly complex, using extensive infrastructure and advanced tradecraft."

See also: The secret to being a great spy agency in the 21st century: Incubating startups (TechRepublic)

While there are numerous threats posed to the UK by nation-state actors, GCHQ is also aware that the cybercriminal gangs also pose a threat to organizations and citizens -- with attackers eager to distribute various forms of malware and ransomware -- and Fleming welcomed Amber Rudd's plans to take the fight to crooks using the dark web.

"Recent prosecutions are showing we really can make a difference in this space. Yesterday you heard the Home Secretary set out the next stage in the government's campaign against cybercrime," he said.

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• Cybersecurity as big a challenge as counterterrorism, says spy chief</s>The UK has conducted a "major offensive cyber-campaign" against the Islamic State group, the director of the intelligence agency GCHQ has revealed.

The operation hindered the group's ability to coordinate attacks and suppressed their propaganda, former MI5 agent Jeremy Fleming said.

It is the first time the UK has systematically degraded an adversary's online efforts in a military campaign.

Mr Fleming made the remarks in his first public speech as GCHQ director.

"The outcomes of these operations are wide ranging," he told the Cyber UK conference in Manchester.

"In 2017 there were times when Daesh found it almost impossible to spread their hate online, to use their normal channels to spread their rhetoric, or trust their publications."

Mr Fleming said the cyber-operations had disrupted the group's online activities and even destroyed equipment and networks.

"This campaign shows how targeted and effective offensive cyber can be."

Mr Fleming also criticised Russia over what he called "unacceptable cyber-behaviour".

He said the use of a nerve agent on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury was "stark and shocking", and demonstrated "how reckless Russia is prepared to be".

"The robust response from the UK and from the international community shows the Kremlin that illegal acts have consequences. And it looks like our expertise on Russia will be in increasing demand," he said.

He also described some of GCHQ's other goals, which included tracking down people who use the dark web to distribute child sex abuse images.
Ex-MI5 agent Jeremy Fleming gives his first public speech as head of GCHQ, revealing the United Kingdom launched a "major offensive cyber-campaign" against Islamic State. He also criticises Russia for actions such as launching the NotPetya virus and the poisoning of Yulia and Sergei Skripal, both actions Russia denies involvement in.