The National Cyber Security Council (NCSC) has launched a new personal internet protection service to increase the digital security of political candidates, election officials and other people at high risk of being targeted ahead of the general elections.

The opt-in service aims to prevent these individuals falling victim to phishing, malware and other cyber threats.

The NCSC, which is part of GCHQ, said it will provide an extra layer of security on personal devices by warning users visiting a domain known to be malicious and blocking outgoing traffic to these domains.

Jonathon Ellison, NCSC director for National Resilience and Future Technology, urged those eligible for the service to sign up and follow guidance to protect themselves.

“Individuals who play important roles in our democracy are an attractive target for cyber actors seeking to disrupt or otherwise undermine our open and free society,” he added. “That’s why the NCSC has ramped up our support for people at higher risk of being targeted online to ensure they can better protect their accounts and devices from attacks.”

The move follows the government announcements in recent months of attempts by the Russian Intelligence Services and China state-affiliated actors to carry out malicious activity targeting UK institutions and individuals, including parliamentarians.

Earlier this week, the director of GCHQ warned that China poses a “genuine and increasing” cyber risk to the UK and said that responding to the challenge posed by China is GCHQ’s top priority, with more resource devoted to the topic than any other single mission.

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