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Britain warns citizens to stockpile water and food as threats grow

Nine.Au • October 23, 2026

British citizens have been urged to stockpile food and other essentials as the threat of cyberattacks against the country hits new levels.

UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting says “state- terrorism” poses an increasing threat to everyday life in the country and people should be prepared.

Speaking at the opening of a new defence plant in the West Midlands on Thursday, he warned cyber attacks could dismantle supply chains and cause company systems to fail.

Streeting urged people to prepare now by stockpiling food, medicines, water and hand-cranked radios.

“How would we cope if the payment systems of the supermarkets went down?” he asked.

“Those are the sorts of everyday challenges and threats we could well face, and it is right we ask the country to be ready for those things and ask everybody to do their bit.”

The warning comes as the UK government launched the first stage of a three-year Be Ready campaign to advise people being prepared for disruption from events such as severe weather.

It aims to educate people preparing and coping for stoppages in water, electricity and internet services.

The move comes hours after a major cyber-security issue impacted millions of sites across the world this week, forcing multiple government services, including in Australia, to go offline.

Australia’s own cybersecurity agency was among the websites impacted after critical flaws were found within the PHP programming language , with the Australian Cyber Security Website being unavailable to users on the internet on Thursday.

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The flaws could allow attackers to remotely execute code, disrupt services and expose customer data, according to web infrastructure provider Cloudflare, which has been working with the PHP Foundation, OpenAI and Wiz to address the issue.

The PHP Foundation, the organisation behind the coding language, later released a patch for the bugs, which have been hidden in its software for years, and is urging website operators to update their systems immediately.

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UK Government Urges Citizens to Stockpile for Cyber and Climate Emergencies The UK government has launched the 'Be Ready' campaign, urging households to prepare for potential disruptions from cyberattacks and severe weather. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting emphasized the need for citizens to stockpile essential supplies, including food, water, and first aid kits, to sustain themselves for at least three days. This initiative comes amid growing concerns over state-sponsored terrorism and the impact of climate change on infrastructure. Recent cyber vulnerabilities, particularly a critical flaw in the PHP programming language, have heightened fears of cyber incidents affecting essential services. The campaign aims to improve national resilience and reduce pressure on emergency services during crises. Citizens are advised to keep a mix of cash, hygiene products, and emergency supplies readily available. The government has also launched a public awareness campaign to ensure that households are prepared for unexpected events. 24 sources 66

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Britain warns citizens to stockpile water and food as threats grow

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