---
title: "Britain Prepares Citizens for Russian Cyberattacks: Stock Up on Food and Water"
description: "🇬🇧 Britain officially prepares citizens for Russian cyberattacks: families are urged to stock up on food and water. 📢 The government is launching a survival campaign and exercises in case of a hybrid war. 🚨 Intelligence warns: the threat of an attack on NATO is real."
date: 2026-07-15T01:10:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/britain-prepares-citizens-for-russian-cyberattacks-stock-up-on-food-and-water
tags: [ukraine, russia, nato, cybersecurity, starmer]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Britain Prepares Citizens for Russian Cyberattacks: Stock Up on Food and Water

![Shopping cart filled with groceries: British citizens stock up on food and water in preparation for Russian cyberattacks](https://xab.info/media/2026/07/15/britaniya-gotovit-grazhdan-k-kiberatakam-rossii-zapasaytes-edyoy-i-vodoy/britaniya-gotovit-grazhdan-k-kiberatakam-rossii-zapasaytes-edyoy-i-vodoy-1.webp)

The UK government has launched a large-scale preparation of the population for possible emergencies caused by hybrid threats. At the center of attention is the recommendation for families to stockpile food and drinking water in case of a large-scale cyberattack that could be organized by Russian hackers.

### National Awareness Campaign

The Prime Minister's Chief Secretary, Darren Jones, officially announced the launch of the "National Resilience Awareness Campaign." The goal of the initiative is to teach citizens simple but vital actions in the event of a crisis. Ministers plan to launch an information wave later this year, urging the population to prepare stocks of food, medicine, and basic survival supplies in advance.

The scenario for which London is preparing the country includes the possibility of losing access to electricity, water supply, telephone communication, and even the inability to make purchases in local stores due to a digital collapse.

### External Threats and Internal Exercises

The decision to prepare citizens was made against the backdrop of a worsening geopolitical situation. Last year's Strategic Defence Review warned that Britain is under daily attack — from espionage to cyber threats from hostile states, particularly Russia and Iran. The document also noted Vladimir Putin's readiness to use military force and threaten with nuclear weapons.

Next year, the government will conduct "National Home Defence Exercises." Hundreds of civil servants will practice crisis response scenarios from within government structures, modeling the consequences of a hybrid attack by a foreign adversary.

### Updating the Risk Register

Ministers have also updated the National Risk Register — a public document describing "reasonably worst-case scenarios." For the first time, it includes the threat of foreign interference in Britain's democratic processes, as well as the risks of cyberattacks on data systems, water supplies, and police stations. The secrecy level of the risk of a nuclear strike on the mainland remains high and is not published in the open domain.

### European Context

Britain is not the only country preparing its population for the worst. In Sweden, households have already been advised to stock up on food, water, warm clothing, and radios in case of a power outage. Norway advises having medicines on hand, including iodine tablets in case of a nuclear incident, while in Germany, homeowners are recommended to adapt basements into bomb shelters. Previously, the EU urged all citizens to prepare a 72-hour supply: documents in waterproof cases, canned food, water, matches, and a multitool.

### Real Threats and Intelligence Data

Last month, Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that Western intelligence considers a Russian attack on a NATO country possible within four years. During the presentation of the defense plan, he noted that an attack could occur as early as 2030.

The threats are already taking a material form. Russian hackers have previously hacked the email accounts of British officials and Foreign Office employees, selling access to correspondence on the dark web. The Google Threat Intelligence Group discovered a new spy backdoor called STOCKSTAY, which the Turla group is deploying against military and government institutions in Ukraine and European diplomatic departments. The SBU, together with the FBI, also exposed systematic attempts by Russian intelligence services to hack the messengers of officials in Ukraine, Europe, and the US.

For the first time in two decades, the government is updating plans for an attack on mainland Britain, including the location of nuclear bunkers for ministers in case of an evacuation of London.