(London: His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has blocked over 100 million malicious emails in the past three years, as cyber threats against UK government services continue to escalate.

The data was obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, where HMRC disclosed detailed figures on the volume of malicious emails blocked from November 2021 to September 2024. The data shows a sharp rise in cyberattacks, highlighting the growing threat to UK government services.

According to new data obtained, HMRC blocked 23,751,742 email attacks between November 2021 and October 2022.

This figure surged to 40,346,532 between November 2022 and October 2023, followed by 40,903,820 blocked emails from November 2023 to September 2024.

Overall, HMRC has blocked 105,002,094 emails in the past three years.

Andy Ward, SVP International, Absolute Security, commented:  “These numbers show just how relentless cybercriminals are when it comes to targeting government institutions. Email remains one of the main ways attackers try to break into systems—whether through malware, spam or other tactics designed to exploit vulnerabilities.”

“To tackle these threats effectively, organisations need a strong cyber resilience strategy. This means real-time monitoring of systems, advanced threat detection, and the ability to act fast when something goes wrong. Security teams need to be able to isolate and shut down compromised systems immediately to stop attacks from spreading. With cyber threats becoming more sophisticated, having the right tools and defences in place is more important than ever to protect the UK’s Government Departments.”

Despite these increasing threats, HMRC has confirmed that changes to its email security systems mean it can no longer categorise email threats by type, such as phishing, malware, or spam. This shift in technology makes it more challenging to assess the evolving cyber risks faced by the department.

Sawan Joshi, Group Director of Information Security at FDM Group, commented: "HMRC’s efforts to block malicious emails show the relentless nature of cyber threats, highlighting the need for robust security measures and a highly skilled workforce."

"Protecting critical systems isn’t just about implementing the right technology—it’s about having the right expertise in place. Employees must be equipped with the necessary skills to not only detect and respond to threats but also to communicate risks effectively and strengthen business resilience. For organisations, investing in upskilling staff in cybersecurity training is critical.

THE EDITORIAL TEAM

Vigilance

Posted On Monday, 14 April 2025 11:32

By Husam Dughman

In 1973, the renowned Israeli diplomat Abba Eban quipped, “The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” Many educated Arabic-speaking people I know agree. But why? To put it bluntly, if there is one single factor that can explain the never-ending conflict between Israel and other countries in the Middle East, it is the consistent refusal of those nations- including the Palestinians- to genuinely recognize Israel’s right to exist. This, in a nutshell, is the core of the problem. Things first came to a head when the state of modern-day Israel came into being in 1948 in accordance with the United Nations proposal of 1947 which had allowed for a two-state solution, one Jewish and the other Arab. While the Jews accepted the UN’s proposal, the Arabs rejected it. The Palestinians and a number of countries in the region sent armed forces to attack Israel in 1948. They lost. It was that failure, not the resulting displacement of Palestinians, which was described as an-Nakba (The Catastrophe) by the Syrian historian Constantin Zureiq who coined that word for that particular purpose.

Husam Dughman

Vigilance

Posted On Monday, 03 March 2025 10:16

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