London is one of the smartest and most interconnected cities in the world. Digital infrastructure plays a role in almost every facet of society, streamlining public transport, improving healthcare provision, boosting sustainability, and more.
However, this reliance on technology has left London’s critical national infrastructure (CNI) perilously vulnerable to digital attacks. As geopolitical relationships deteriorate and nation-state threats to critical infrastructure increase, the UK can no longer ignore this problem.
The Impact of Critical National Infrastructure Failures
As a sprawling city of more than 8 million people, London is highly dependent on a combination of transportation methods – buses, trams, and trains, to name just a few – to keep the city moving. The city’s transportation network is, in turn, reliant on supporting IT infrastructure.
Anyone who lives, works, or spends any amount of time in London will be all too aware of the impact of system outages on the UK capital’s transportation network. Delays resulting from incidents such as light and point failures are, while irritating, a part of daily life in a city that has seen continuous occupation for more than two millennia.
What we often fail to consider, however, is the impact these outages can have on London’s broader infrastructure. While most system failures are relatively minor, larger-scale transportation outages have the potential to cripple food and medicine logistics.
The potential consequences become even more dire when we broaden this example to include all critical national infrastructure. For example, a massive failure of banking systems would bring London’s vibrant economy to a grinding halt and impact people’s ability to purchase food or other essential items. Similarly, energy system outages could see millions of people go without gas or electricity for days or weeks.
The Threat to Critical National Infrastructure
The real problem, however, is not accidental outages. These system failures are typically easily fixable and present little threat to London’s way of life. We do, however, need to be concerned about attacks on London’s CNI. The UK’s adversaries know and understand our level of technical debt and the inherent fragility of our infrastructure. If pushed, they will not hesitate to capitalize on it.
If the UK is drawn into conflict, cyberattacks will be the first wave of battle. Just as armies in the First World War bombarded trenches with artillery fire to weaken opposition defenses before sending in troops, the UK’s adversaries will target critical infrastructure and cause paralysis in the capital before launching any physical attacks. For example, there is a genuine possibility that connected vehicles could be targeted and "bricked," resulting in them becoming one-tonne obstacles littering London’s roads.
These are not just theoretical threats. We’ve already seen Russia employ similar tactics ahead of and during the war in Ukraine. Whether it is power grids, transport systems, or logistics networks, the UK’s adversaries – whoever they may be – would be willing to wreak havoc on London’s CNI. In an increasingly fractured and conflict-ridden world, these attacks are not outside the realm of possibility.
Protecting London’s CNI
While the UK government has taken steps to protect critical national infrastructure - such as ordering the removal of Huawei technology from the UK’s 5G public networks - these efforts are not enough. To protect CNI from cyber threats, be they part of a wider conflict or otherwise, the UK government must address the legacy of underinvestment and resulting technical debt in our digital networks.
Much of the UK’s CNI relies on outdated systems and technologies that have failed to keep pace with evolving cybersecurity threats. Ensuring that our adversaries cannot leverage cyber threats as a tool of blackmail - as with the ransomware attacks that have crippled hospitals, schools, and manufacturers around the world – or the first wave of attack relies on the government modernizing these systems
It is not just about removing foreign actors’ influence but about ensuring that the UK is prepared for the evolving cyber threat landscape. The UK must invest in new technologies, cybersecurity training, and more resilient infrastructure to avoid becoming the next target in a cyber war. The potential for crippling attacks on London, and by extension the country, should serve as a wake-up call. It’s either act now or become victims of our own technical fragility.
