The UK’s National Cyber Force (NCF) said in 2023 that it needed to expand its offensive cyber capability because government demand was growing and technology and threats were changing. The planned growth, including a permanent base at Samlesbury, Lancashire, was intended to increase operational output. The public announcements describe the reasons and types of effects sought, but do not disclose current staffing, budget or a quantified success rate.
Why is the UK scaling its offensive hacking force?
The NCF’s stated reason is that the government needs more operational cyber capability. In its public materials, the force said it needed to “scale up to meet the requirements Government has of it.” IT Pro reported on 4 April 2023 that the NCF was establishing a permanent base at Samlesbury to increase output and expected significant investment in capability to keep pace with technological change.
The policy direction predates that announcement. The UK’s 2022 National Cyber Strategy committed the government to scale and integrate the NCF with GCHQ, the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The strategy described offensive cyber operations as a tool for national security, defence, foreign policy and serious-crime prevention.
That is a plan to expand a capability, not a public accounting of how much it has grown. The disclosed sources do not give a current headcount, total budget or measured operational-success rate.
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What does the National Cyber Force do?
Created in 2020, the NCF brought together personnel from GCHQ, the MOD, SIS and Dstl under one command, building on the earlier National Offensive Cyber Programme. Its official publication says it conducts cyber operations daily in support of national security, foreign policy, military operations and the prevention of serious crime. It also described planned growth toward a roughly equal share of MOD and intelligence-agency personnel.
The force describes operations in terms of specific effects, rather than publishing technical details of individual activity. Examples in its official publication include:
- Disrupting an adversary’s communications or impairing access to data and decision-making systems.
- Reducing terrorist groups’ ability to distribute extremist media.
- Interfering with online services used for criminal purposes.
A government announcement on 4 April 2023 listed disclosed outcomes from the preceding three years. These included protecting overseas military deployments, disrupting terrorist groups, countering sophisticated cyber threats and state disinformation, reducing external interference in democratic elections, and removing child sexual-abuse material from public online spaces. Those examples are a limited public account; they should not be taken as a complete inventory of the NCF’s work.
The government also described a “doctrine of cognitive effect”: using operations to sow distrust, reduce morale or weaken an adversary’s ability to plan. The stated aim is to affect an adversary’s options and behaviour, not only to damage computer systems.
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Is the NCF allowed to hack other countries?
The NCF says its operations are legal, ethical and proportionate, and that they pass through multiple approval stages. Its official publication says those stages assess whether an operation is feasible, how it is planned, what benefits it may bring, and what risks it creates. The government and NCF describe the capability as serving national security, defence, foreign policy and serious-crime prevention.
This is not a public, general permission to hack any foreign target. The sources describe an approval process and broad purposes, but do not set out the legal basis or authorisations for particular covert operations. Individual operations remain secret, so the public examples do not reveal the full programme or how each decision was made.
How is the NCF different from the NCSC?
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the NCF have different primary roles. The NCSC focuses on defending the UK’s digital homeland and improving cyber resilience; the NCF conducts offensive and disruptive operations. GCHQ is among the organisations contributing personnel to the NCF, but the public material cited here does not establish equivalent parent-organisation details for the NCSC.
| Dimension | National Cyber Force (NCF) | National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary mission | Offensive and disruptive operations supporting national security, foreign policy, military operations and serious-crime prevention. | Defending the UK’s digital homeland and supporting cyber resilience. |
| Organisations identified in the cited material | GCHQ, MOD, SIS and Dstl personnel under one command. | Parent-organisation details are not stated in the cited material. |
| Public visibility | Individual operations are covert; only selected outcomes and general processes are disclosed. | Operational secrecy comparison is not stated in the cited material. |
| Examples of outcomes | Disrupting communications or services, countering state disinformation, supporting military deployments and disrupting terrorist activity. | Defensive resilience; specific outcome examples are not stated in the cited material. |
What the public record does—and does not—show
The NCF’s own publication and the government’s announcement explain the force’s stated mission, broad operating principles and selected effects. They do not reveal the details of individual operations, provide a complete list of targets, or quantify success. The 2023 expansion announcement describes the rationale and intended direction of growth; it is not evidence of a current staffing or budget figure.
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Sir Jeremy Fleming, then Director of GCHQ, said the NCF complemented the UK’s cyber resilience with operational capability at the scale needed to protect society. General Sir Jim Hockenhull, then Commander of Strategic Command, called it a crucial tool in an integrated approach to national security. These statements set out the government’s case for the force; they do not independently verify the effectiveness of particular operations.
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