A significant majority (72%) of the UK public believe that cyber warfare is likely to be the next step in modern combat, a new report reveals.

The survey, which questioned 2,000 nationally representative UK respondents above the age of 16, was conducted by Nineteen Group, and delved into the British public’s views on cyber warfare.

Following the devastating explosions in Lebanon which targeted pagers and walkie talkies, and with new details about the attack emerging, the world is reeling from this new avenue in modern warfare as communication devices were employed as a receptible for terror.

Cyber warfare has been on the rise as nation states battle for power over the cyber sphere; the Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked a new era in cyber warfare as state-backed threat actors emerged as top risks to national security.

Despite the UK government’s substantial investment in physical warfare, spending £54.2 billion on defence in the 2023/24 financial year, according to the UK Defence Spending report 2024, the majority of the public believes the next frontline will be in cyberspace.

In fact, over half of people (52%) said they believe cyber warfare may be the next step in warfare combined with physical tactics and a further 20% of people say that cyber warfare will outpace physical warfare entirely.

Only 5% of the public believe that cyber warfare will never replace physical warfare.

Amid escalating geopolitical tensions worldwide, nearly a third (31%) of the British public admitted to feeling “scared” about the prospect of cyber warfare.

Furthermore, the research found that 6% of Britons believe we are already in the midst of a “cyber war.”

“Cyberspace is the perfect grey zone between war and peace. State and non-state actors can operate in this ambiguous and frequently anonymised domain more aggressively and with greater risk appetite than they would in the physical world. The danger of miscalculation is consequently far more heightened,” said Tarquin Folliss, Vice Chairman of SASIG.

“So, the public is right to worry about conflict in cyberspace and where it could lead. Cyberwarfare, however, is unlikely to develop as an independent capability or effect. The weaponisation of cyber-space will continue to evolve as one component of the armoury that governments can call on to prosecute war,” Folliss continues.

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The research also revealed what the British public are most scared about when it comes to cyber-criminal activity.

Cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure (54%), nation state activities (43%), and the use of AI in online scams (33%) were the top three.

Disinformation swaying global politics (31%), cyber warfare (31%), and deepfakes (21%) also concerned large percentage of Britons.

Surprisingly, some of the most common cyber-crimes, phishing (15%), social engineering (12%), and fake ads and giveaways (12%) were much lower on the list.

Notably, over half of the public stated they are scared of the impact of cyber-attacks targeting critical national infrastructure (CNI).

This includes attacks on critical services like utility providers, healthcare, government, and policing. The June 2024 cyber-attack on Synnovis, for example, affected NHS facilities across the UK, causing more than 200 ‘life saving’ operations to be cancelled.