British Royals Face Russian Cyber Threat In Widening Grey War 4744964

Russian hackers targeting the Royal Family have triggered a major taxpayer-funded cyber security overhaul for Buckingham Palace.

The upgrade comes after the King’s household admitted that its “ageing” computer systems need replacing to protect the monarchy from security threats.

The Palace’s official website has previously been knocked offline by a cyber attack from a pro-Russian hacking group, while a recent NHS data breach exposed confidential files believed to be linked to patients at royal residences including Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham and Clarence House.

Hackers linked to Russia are increasingly targeting UK institutions, amid mounting tensions between Moscow and Nato.

Diplomatic insiders have warned that Vladimir Putin’s escalation of hybrid warfare against Nato countries has reached “unprecedented levels”. The UK is working closely with allies to counter any grey-zone activity after Germany accused Russia of targeting Leipzig airport with a drone last month.

The extraordinary digital revamp of Palace systems has been built into the Royal Family’s new £99.9m a year taxpayer-funded settlement . A portion of the money will go towards replacing “ageing legacy systems to strengthen cyber security”.

The disclosure, revealed by The i Paper , is contained in the Royal Trustees’ 2026 review, which was laid before Parliament on Tuesday as part of the new Sovereign Grant arrangements.

The Sovereign Grant is the annual funding to support the monarch’s official duties and the work of the Royal Household including staffing, official travel and the maintenance of occupied royal palaces.

The trustees’ review covers the household’s expected spending from 2027-28 to 2031-32 and includes the new cybersecurity measures alongside maintaining the royal palaces and installing energy-efficient heating.

It does not say what the ageing systems are, how old they are, how many need replacing or how much the work will cost. Nor, does it say whether any of the old systems have ever been successfully breached.

In October 2023, the Royal Family’s official website, royal.uk , was brought down for around 90 minutes in a denial-of-service (DOS) attack. The pro-Russian hacking group KillNet claimed responsibility, although this was never independently verified.

At the time, a Royal Household source stressed that it was not a hack in the sense of gaining access to the website’s systems or content.

It nevertheless demonstrated that the monarchy’s public-facing digital infrastructure could be deliberately disrupted by actors linked to hostile states.

And it was not the first time Killnet claimed to have targeted a Palace website. In November 2022, the group said it had attacked the Prince of Wales’s website as part of a wider campaign against Western institutions and organisations supporting Ukraine.

In a message posted to Telegram, and first reported by Computer Weekly, Killnet members wrote that the royal website was not working. “Perhaps this is due to the supply of high-precision missiles to Ukraine,” the group said.

The latest Palace spending plans now show that the Royal Household is looking beyond simply defending its public website, but is planning to replace underlying legacy systems as part of a wider effort to strengthen cyber security.

That effort was already being expanded before the new funding settlement was announced. Last year, the household recruited an information security manager at Buckingham Palace on £50,000-£55,000, responsible for protecting its data, systems and network, assessing vulnerabilities and strengthening security controls.

The role required the holder to work closely with a separate cyber security team. A permanent post of cyber security manager was advertised in February 2024 on £75,000, tasked with developing the household’s risk strategy and resilience against attacks.

An information security adviser is also involved in vulnerability assessments and investigations into suspected breaches.

The Sovereign Grant is based on a percentage of the profits of the Crown Estate – a collection of land and property in the UK that belongs to the monarch – which is paid to the Treasury.

For the 10 years to 2027, the grant has received a temporary uplift to help fund major refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. With this work nearing completion, the overall grant will reduce from £137.9m.

However, there has been a significant increase in core funding to £99.9m, up from £72.1m in 2025-26 and £51.8m in 2024-25.

This is in part due to the King “significantly” increasing the number of engagements he is carrying out compared to those that were undertaken in the final years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.

The percentage of the Crown Estate’s net profits that go towards the Sovereign Grant will be around 20.5 per cent, rather than 12 per cent.

Speaking the increase in core funding, Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson said the assessment had looked at the needs of the Royal Household to make sure “it is being funded adequately for the work, for the public duties that His Royal Highness the King and the Royal Family carry out.

“And it is worth pointing out, of course, that those activities have increased significantly in recent years.”

EXPLORE MORE ON THE TOPICS IN THIS STORY