Russia accused
Britain and the US accused Russia of carrying out a sustained campaign to take over routers in government and private-sector organisations. In an unusual joint report, they said Russian state-sponsored attackers were conducting "man-in-the-middle attacks to support espionage, extract intellectual property, maintain persistent access to victim networks, and potentially lay a foundation for future offensive operations." Russia has denied the accusations but such activities are hardly surprising, and nor is Moscow likely to be the only government carrying them out. On a practical level, the British government emphasised the importance of taking basic precautions, including keeping devices and software up to date, using strong passwords and making sure important data is backed up.