Kemi Badenoch is set to attend a rally in central London today, where she will warn that the UK is under an increased and unrelenting threat from hostile actors. The warning comes just hours after hackers targeted hundreds of supermarket fridges across the country, leaving food spoilt and needing to be thrown away.
Hackers hit supermarket fridges
The tech-takedown has left experts uncertain about who was behind the move. Conservative officials have long argued that the country needs to spend more on defence, including cybersecurity, in an age of increased risk.
Days before the fridge incident, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took credit for a hack that saw billions in cryptocurrency stolen from accounts.
Warning on Labour's approach
Mrs Badenoch is expected to say that "threats are already reaching into our everyday lives, but Labour is failing to take them seriously." The rally follows a series of warnings from Conservative figures about the need for stronger national defences.
The developments come as the UK faces mounting pressure to bolster its cybersecurity posture amid a wave of hostile activity targeting critical infrastructure and digital assets.
