New TV drama ‘a reflection of cyber threats faced by businesses’

Experts at Air IT have said that a new television drama about cyberattacks reflects the threats posed to businesses.

Set in 2024, ‘The Undeclared War’, which launched on Channel 4 last week, is an unnerving thriller in which the UK faces a series of cyberattacks in the run-up to a General Election.

It follows a leading team of cyber security analysts working for GCHQ, played by a star-studded cast including Simon Pegg and Mark Rylance.

While the plot is fictional, cyber security experts at Air IT believe the cyber threats featured in the drama reflect the very real risks posed to UK businesses.

The show is the result of meticulous research from BAFTA award-winning creator Peter Kosminsky, who stressed that while the show’s characters were fictional, “There are no techniques shown or strategies described that aren’t happening and aren’t real.”

Cybercrime is becoming recognised as one of the biggest threats to the modern world.

Last year alone, more than 5.1 billion data records were breached, an 11% increase in incidents compared to the previous year.

This doesn’t come as a surprise to cyber security professionals at Air IT, whose cyber security division, Air Sec, protects SME customers from cyber threats that pose a risk to the data, operations and reputation of their organisation.

Lee Johnson, chief technology officer at Air IT, said: “The Undeclared War may focus on attacks against the Government, but the techniques used and the consequences they have share similarities with the threats faced by businesses and non-profits.

“Cybercriminals are using more advanced techniques every day in order to steal passwords, data and money.

“We continue to see an increase in both the number of attacks and the sophistication and tactics used.

“With this in mind, there has never been a more important time for organisations to have a managed threat detection and response service to protect their organisation around the clock.

“Cyber security is often overlooked as being beyond budget, but this approach means businesses are significantly more at risk of downtime, data breaches, fines, and ultimately the loss of their data and reputation.

“With the series highlighting the potential risk factors associated with cyberattacks, we would encourage all business leaders to take note by ensuring they are proactively working to ensure their organisation is protected.”