Britain braces for Putin’s ‘dirty cyber warfare’ as payback for Syria air strikes

Vladimir Putin is anticipated to present a proof for a cyber attack on Britain’s infrastructure in revenge for the bombing of Syria on the weekend.

Russian hackers could presumably hit the NHS, consultants fear – with one source asserting: “Cyber warfare is extremely likely.”

It comes as Theresa Will even faces a backlash for snubbing MPs before joining the US-led assault.

It be claimed hackers could presumably free up ­embarrassing knowledge about ­­politicians as part of a two-pronged “dirty warfare” in retaliation for the bombing of Syria.

Undercover agent chiefs furthermore fear the Russian President is plotting a series of cyber assaults that would doubtlessly cripple infrastructure – along with the NHS, transport and power networks.

Intelligence officers at GCHQ and the Ministry of Defence are tonight said to be on standby to respond to any cyber warfare “proportionately”.

The US, Britain and France hit three sites in Syria in response to a suspected deadly chlorine attack that killed as much as seventy five in aged rebel stronghold Douma.

Closing evening Russian president Putin branded the missile strikes on his ally an “act of aggression” and warned further assaults would “like a ­damaging enact” on world peace.

PM Theresa Will even has reportedly bought intelligence Russia could presumably hit participants of the UK institution with “kompromat” – compromising knowledge that would smear their reputations.

International Secretary Boris Johnson said Moscow had a be aware document of cyber assaults and meddling in varied ­countries’ democratic processes.

He told the BBC: “It be a must to purchase each and every precaution, and when you happen to glance at what Russia has performed, no longer lawful in this country, in Salisbury, assaults on TV stations, on the democratic processes, on crucial national infrastructure – unnecessary to declare we must be very, very cautious.

“But I like to stress, we in the UK assassinate no longer scrutinize an escalation, absolutely no longer.”

Mr Johnson said Western powers had no plans for further strikes, but would assess their alternatives if Syria’s authorities worn chemical weapons again. He added: “This is no longer about regime switch … This is no longer about attempting to expose the tide of the war in Syria.”

Outmoded Minister for Security, Alan West, furthermore warned Britain could presumably furthermore very well be the aim of a grimy warfare as Putin tries to “hit back”.

He said it changed into no longer going Russia would originate ­navy circulation but would “safe varied systems”.

Lord West added: “I mediate he [Putin] will most likely be searching to assassinate something. It goes to be a minute bit little bit of cyber.

“He’ll assassinate something but he’s no longer going to head for missiles in Akrotiri [RAF base in Cyprus] or something care for that.”

Michael Clarke, an academic ­specialising in defence research, told our sister paper the Sunday Mirror an attack could presumably furthermore very well be impending in the next two or three weeks. He added: “Cyber warfare is extremely likely. This would be an attack on national ­infrastructure, no longer lawful ­upsetting City corporations, but getting at some level of the transport system, or the health system, or air online page online visitors protect watch over.”

In holding with reviews, Mrs Will even has been warned politicians could presumably furthermore very well be singled out in any Russian cyber attack – as Hillary Clinton changed into at some level of the US presidential election. One source told the Sunday Instances: “Each person knows what’s in the Russian playbook, kompromat form enviornment materials, we’re all ready for that.

“Each person knows that they assassinate like that ability to penetrate at that scale.

“We’re no longer asserting there’s a image of ‘X’ that’s waiting to approach back out nonetheless it’ll be favorable to us in the event that they don’t like a pair of of that form of enviornment materials.”

Referring to a imaginable counter cyber attack by Britain, the source added: “In the event that they aggressively approach after us, we are able to indubitably like the ability to assassinate some stuff to them. But now not like Russia, we abide by the regulation, so anything we assassinate would be proportionately performed.”

It furthermore emerged the PM is ready to present a proof for economic sanctions on London-based mostly totally Russian oligarchs.

And Nikki Haley, US envoy to the UN, said original sanctions would be announced on the present time in opposition to Russian corporations linked to Syrian despot Bashar al-Assad.

Saturday morning’s strikes represented the predominant attack in opposition to Assad’s authorities by Western powers in seven years of Syria’s civil warfare.

US officers claimed assaults on sites in Barzeh, Damascus, and Him Shinsar, west of Homs, had situation Assad’s chemical weapons programme back years.

The Russians and the US said there were no reported casualties. After the strikes, the US printed a Russian “disinformation advertising and marketing campaign” had already begun.

The Pentagon’s Dana White said there changed into “a 2,000% originate bigger in Russian trolls in 24 hours”.

The Kremlin is furthermore regarded as boosting the preference of spies in the UK – weeks after aged agent Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia were poisoned in Salisbury.

Colonel Richard Kemp, who led Operation Fingal in Afghanistan in 2002, said: “The Russians will most likely be seeing us as more of a straight enemy.

“I mediate the chance is that they could presumably even be rising their espionage process.”

The outdated day inspectors from the fair Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were in Syrian capital Damascus. They met Syrian officers and were situation to chat over with nearby Douma, in Jap Ghouta.

The Syrian military announced on Saturday the position had been cleared of the final rebel combatants.

Some locals claimed the day before as of late the bombing in opposition to changed into less intense than expected. One supporter of the anti-Assad opposition, said: “It wasn’t as intense as they’re making it sound.

“We do now not must any extent further faith in the enviornment community.”

Meanwhile US President Donald Trump has defended his exercise of the phrase “Mission Accomplished” following the allied attack.

George W. Bush said the identical thing six weeks into the 2003 Iraq War, furthermore declaring “predominant fight operations in Iraq like ended”.

It changed into a global image of US misjudgment and errors as the war continued to rage for years.

Mr Trump tweeted the day before as of late: “The Syrian raid changed into so completely implemented, with such precision, that the very most realistic methodology the Unfounded News Media could presumably demean changed into by my exercise of the term ‘Mission Accomplished’.”

He added: “I knew they would derive on this but felt it is miles the kind of large Defense force term.”