The National Cyber Force (NCF) is intended to consolidate offensive cyber activity in the United Kingdom, by enabling an offensive capability to combat security threats, hostile states, terror groups, extremism, hackers, disinformation and election interference.
[1][2] The specialist unit is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and GCHQ, one of the British intelligence agencies.
[2] Its first commander was named in The Economist as James Babbage,[5] who took the role after a long career at GCHQ.
[6] In 2023 Babbage was succeeded by Air Vice-Marshal Tim Neal-Hopes,[7] formerly director Cyber, Intelligence and Information Integration at the United Kingdom's Strategic Command.
[1] An April 2021 report produced by academics from King's College London and the Offensive Cyber Working Group has produced a set of recommendations for the NCF, with an aim to increase public debate on offensive cyber in the UK.