AP\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Britain and its allies risk losing a conflict in cyberspace<\/a> against adversaries such as Russia unless citizens, corporations and governments treat cybersecurity with much greater urgency, a UK spy chief is warning.\n <\/p>\n \n Anne Keast-Butler<\/a>, director of the communications intelligence agency GCHQ<\/a>, will warn Wednesday that Moscow is \u201crelentlessly targeting critical infrastructure, democratic processes, supply chains and public trust\u201d in Britain and Europe. In a speech at a World War II code breaking center near London, she will accuse Russia of stealing technology and plotting sabotage and assassination attempts.\n <\/p>\n \n Keast-Butler plans to say that rapid advances in artificial intelligence mean that \u201cthe ground beneath our feet is shifting\u201d and there is a \u201cnarrowing window for the UK and allies to stay ahead\u201d of countries such as China, a science and technology \u201csuperpower.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n She plans to argue there must be an effort \u201cfrom boardrooms to living rooms\u201d to make cybersecurity \u201c10 times more urgent,\u201d according to extracts released in advance by GCHQ, short for Government Communications Headquarters.\n <\/p>\n \n It is the latest in a string of warnings from Western spies and intelligence experts that Russia is stepping up hostile activity in a \u201cgray zone\u201d that falls just below the threshold of war.\n <\/p>\n \n In recent months, authorities in countries including Sweden, Poland, Denmark and Norway have alleged that hackers<\/a> linked to Russia targeted their critical infrastructure, including power plants and dams.\n <\/p>\n