British military carrying out cyberattacks on IS forces in Mosul

The British military is carrying out cyberattacks against Islamic State for the first time.

The tactic is being used to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the battle for Mosul .

Although the US military has previously admitted using offensive cyber-tactics, this is the first time the British Armed Forces have come clean about their use of the technology.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon revealed the development after a speech at an International Cyber Symposium in London.

Asked if the UK was carrying out cyberattacks in the campaign to retake the northern Iraqi city, Sir Michael said: "I'm not going into operational specifics, but yes, you know we are conducting military operations against Daesh as part of the international coalition, and I can confirm that we are using offensive cyber for the first time in this campaign."

Although the Ministry of Defence is being coy about its capabilities, it is understood the tactic involves 'disrupting' Islamic State's ability to communicate online and via mobile phones.

Although this is the first time the military has used this technology against Islamic State, similar means were deployed against Colonel Gaddafi's forces in Libya.

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As well as jamming the group's networks, the military can also hijack messages and spread false orders within the organisation.

"The advantage is that it has the potential to become an enemy within the opposition, rather than just stopping them communicating," a source told Sky News.

Separately, UK's cyber intelligence agency GCHQ and its American counterpart, the National Security Agency, have successfully hampered Islamic State's ability to produce and publish its online PR campaign.

The group has found it harder to spread its message over the internet in recent years.

GCHQ has worked closely with the Armed Forces for many years, often embedding operatives in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the military has only recently invested in its cyber capabilities.

The Defence Secretary also announced at the Symposium that £265m will be invested in protecting military cyber systems.

"Cyberattack is one of the greatest challenges to our security," he said.

"It's crucial we use our increasing defence budget to stay ahead and investing in this programme will help us protect against these threats."