Information Threats and Influence Directorate
The Information Threats and Influence Directorate is funded by the CSSF an intelligence funding mechanism overseen by the National Security Council.
In the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund annual report 2023 to 2024, Published 5 December 2024 it is noted that:
- The creation and spread of disinformation by state threat actors rose during 2023 to 2024, targeting democracies across the globe, including the UK. The CSSF used agility to meet this threat, including the establishment of the Information Threats and Influence Portfolio, created to directly counter foreign information manipulation and interference. Its primary focus over 2023 to 2024 was to counter Russia’s information war against Ukraine. The CSSF also supported countries and international organisations in building resilience to the corrosive effect of Russian disinformation by increasing the capacity of governmental and non-governmental organisations, media and others to encourage critical thinking about information sources and develop protections.[1]
The budget for this work was £17.3 million. This rose to £20 million in 2024/5.[2]
In January 2024 the Foreign Affairs committee reported that:
- In 2022, the FCDO also established the Information Threats and Influence Directorate (ITID) to challenge disinformation, propaganda and information operations by state actors and to enhance our reach to key audiences globally. EECAD is working closely with ITID to prioritise and develop its activities in Europe and Central Asia on the basis of UK national security interests. This work is heavily focused on building insight into Russian, and others’, information operations, supporting international coordination and responses, providing governmental capacity building and delivering strategic communications to counter hostile states’ malign narratives.[3]
In March 2023 the government announced:
- We have established a new directorate in the FCDO – incorporating the Government Information Cell – as part of a drive to increase our capability to assess and respond to the hostile manipulation of information by actors including Russia, China and Iran where they affect UK interests abroad.[4]
In the organisational structure of the FCDO it sits in the Defence and Intelligence Directorate General alongside the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECAD) Directorate, which also has well advertised intelligence links including, until 2023 at least, HMG Russia Unit. However the exposure of the Russia Unit as a veritable hub for spooks by the Russian intelligence services in late 2024, meant that its cover was certainly blown, though it continued to exist in government data disclosure until at least September 2024.[5]
After this the Directorate was renamed as Cyber, Information and Tech Threats Directorate.
Resources
- https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/44320/documents/220463/default/
- Counter Disinformation Analyst (Fixed Term) Mid-level, Long-term consulting assignment Posted on 31 October 2022
- ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/conflict-stability-and-security-fund-annual-report-2023-to-2024/conflict-stability-and-security-fund-annual-report-2023-to-2024
- ↑ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6901fa6fe6e3290939a1d0c9/Integrated_Security_Fund_annual_report_2024_to_2025.pdf
- ↑ https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5804/cmselect/cmfaff/488/report.html
- ↑ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/641d72f45155a2000c6ad5d5/11857435_NS_IR_Refresh_2023_Supply_AllPages_Revision_7_WEB_PDF.pdf
- ↑ https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/datagovuk-production-ckan-organogram/fcdo-organograms/resources/2025-07-11T09-06-32Z-2025-07-11-organogram-senior.csv