Russia poses acute threat, new MI6 chief to warn

When she makes her first public address later today, MI6's new chief, Blaise Metreweli, will warn of

the acute threat posed by Russia. She will talk about so-called hybrid warfare, which includes incidents such as ascyber attacks and dronessud of being launched near critical infrastructure by Russian proxies. Ms Metreweli will call this

an imminent threat posed by an aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist Russiaand warn thatthe front line is everywhere. She will continue to insist that Britain will keep up the pressure on President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine's behalf.

Ms Metreweli, who took over as the head of the Secret Intelligence Service in the fall, is the first female to head Britain's foreign intelligence service. On October 1, she took over Sir Richard Moore. The speech on Monday would refer to the latest punishment of Russian entities suspected of conducting information warfare as well as two China-based firms for their

indiscriminate cyber warfare against the UK and its allies. Western sanctions have certainly harmed Russia's economy, exporting the country's exports eastwards toward China and India. However, they have largely failed to change President Putin's tenacity in Ukraine until it relinquisss to his calls for territories and, eventually, Moscow loyalty. It's also evident from Ms Metreweli's remarks that technology is a special area of concern for the new spy chief. She joined MI6 in 1999 and has spent her time with Q Branch. This is the real life, top-secret part of Ian Fleming's spy books, where agents can communicate with their handlers without being detected or captured. In her address later this week, she is likely to urge all her intelligence officers to master technology, not just in our labs, but also in the field of our tradecraft. We must be as fluent in Python as we are with human sources, as well as in several languages. Python, a programming language, may surprise some as an example to choose since it has been around for more than three decades. However, her argument will not be lost on the men and women who have chosen to work in the espionage profession. MI6 must demonstrate that it can still be relevant in an age where data is still important, where spies can no longer rely on false identities when biometric scanning can unmask them in seconds at borders and checkpoints. Sir Richard Knighton, the Chief of Defence Staff, will take a

whole of society

approach to building national security in the face of increasing threats and confusion on Monday. Sir Richard is expected to say in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute in London that defence and resilience must be a top priority for everyone, not just those in the military. It's the latest in a line of warnings that the UK must be more prepared than it is now to face an increasing number of threats. Sir Richard is likely to say that the situation is more serious than he has known during his entire career. Russia has made it clear that it intends to challenge, limit, divide, and ultimately destroy Nato, according to Putin. The response of the United Kingdom must be more than simply increasing the armed forces. Deterrence, he'll say, involves harnessing the UK's power, from its universities to industry, the rail network, and the NHS.

A new era of defense does not mean our military and government are stepping up; it does mean our entire nation is stepping forward," Trump says. Sir Richard will address the skills gap highlighted in the Royal Academy of Engineering's most recent study, and he'll reveal that he will lecture on the importance of working with industry and young people. Both France and Germany have presented proposals for voluntary national service in recent weeks. Last year, the then-Conservative government unveiled its own compulsory plans, which Labour dismissed as a gimmick. However, the discussion about how Britain as a whole should respond to an increasingly volatile world is picking up speed.

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