A New Frontier for National Security
On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum has warned that the UK’s national security landscape has fundamentally shifted, with critical decision-making power moving from the halls of government to corporate boardrooms. Writing in The Independent, Sir Ken emphasized that because much of the nation’s critical infrastructure is now held by private entities, the traditional government-led crisis response model is no longer sufficient.
“In 2026, unlike 2001, many of the assets, systems and services under threat sit in private sector hands,” Sir Ken wrote. He cautioned that during the next major crisis, the nation cannot afford to waste time identifying who has the authority to respond or “who was supposed to pick up the phone.”
Threats Beyond Terrorism
While jihadist terrorism remains a persistent danger—evidenced by a recently foiled plot targeting the Jewish community in Manchester—the security environment is increasingly dominated by state-backed aggression, according to Moneycontrol. Sir Ken noted that MI5 now faces a complex web of threats, including sabotage conducted by criminal proxies, covert interference in democratic processes, and destructive cyberattacks against vital infrastructure like power stations.
The rise of artificial intelligence has further complicated the intelligence frontier, which Sir Ken argued “arguably shapes today’s national security frontier more profoundly than does geopolitics.” He urged for a new “team of teams” approach, integrating government, industry, and academia to proactively identify vulnerabilities rather than relying on reactive measures.
Learning from the Past
Reflecting on his own experience within MI5 during the 9/11 attacks, Sir Ken paid tribute to those lost, including 67 British citizens. He defended the necessity of the subsequent intervention in Afghanistan, noting that while mistakes were made, the cooperation between intelligence agencies like MI6, GCHQ, and international partners significantly reduced the likelihood of a similar mass-casualty event on British soil.
However, he issued a stern warning against complacency: “We must of course always learn from the last attack – but must beware of preparing brilliantly to fight yesterday’s enemy, using yesterday’s methods, against yesterday’s target.” As the intelligence community navigates these evolving threats, Sir Ken is advocating for new legislation to better counter state-backed aggression and a broader definition of national security as a shared endeavour rather than the sole concern of intelligence agencies.