Defending the UK’s critical infrastructure

Dan Jones at Tanium describes how the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill aims to harden the UK’s digital defences

 

Data centres, managed service providers (MSPs) and critical suppliers of public services and critical national infrastructure are among a list of organisations that will be forced to beef up their cyber-security following the introduction of new draft legislation by the government.

 

Details of the new Cyber Security and Resilience Bill – which is likely to begin its journey through Parliament later this year – were published in April with the stated aim that UK organisations would “no longer [be] an easy target for cyber-criminals”.

 

As part of the proposed legislation, industry regulators will be given greater oversight to improve cyber security and resilience in the areas they regulate, with organisations “required to report more incidents to help build a stronger picture of cyber-threats and weaknesses in our online defences”.

 

The government would also have “greater flexibility to update regulatory frameworks when needed” as it acknowledges the need to respond more swiftly to changing threats. 

 

Cyber-security in the spotlight

“The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will help make the UK’s digital economy one of the most secure in the world – giving us the power to protect our services, our supply chains, and our citizens – the first and most important job of any government,” said Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology. 

 

To hammer home the importance of the legislation, the Government pointed to figures released by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) which revealed that in the year to September 2024 it managed 430 cyber-incidents, with 89 of these being classed as “nationally significant”. 

 

The manufacturing and academic sectors were among the hardest hit, with the NCSC identifying them as the top two sectors affected by ransomware. They were followed closely by IT, legal services, charities, and construction.

 

More broadly, the Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 found that 50% of UK businesses reported a cyber-breach or attack in the past 12 months, rising to 62% for further education colleges and 73% for secondary schools. The data underscores the scale and diversity of the threat, highlighting the need for stronger national cyber-resilience across both public and private domains.

 

For many people, the legislation could not have come at a better time. Recent events underscore the importance of the Bill’s goal. Major retailers have felt the impact of cyber-incidents in recent weeks – a stark reminder that no sector is immune, and the private sector is not alone.

 

A rising tide of high-profile attacks

Recent attacks have demonstrated the real-world consequences of underinvestment in cyber-security across sectors. For example, work at the UK’s Legal Aid Agency (LAA) was disrupted after hackers gained access to the agency’s online digital services, leading to a large-scale data breach involving personal applicant information, including highly sensitive criminal and financial records. It’s a stark reminder of the stakes for any organisation, whether public or private. 

 

The UK’s Public Accounts Committee has rightly called attention these systemic issues, from legacy infrastructure to critical roles going unfilled.  But rather than signalling defeat, these findings mark a turning point.

 

There’s now a clear mandate – and opportunity – to modernise. With the right tools and partnerships, all organisations can move beyond reactive defence and toward a proactive, scalable model that brings real-time visibility, improved control, and long-term resilience to even the most complex environments.

 

AI is raising the stakes

In a recent report from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned that AI is set to reshape the threat landscape by 2027, accelerating the frequency, sophistication, and impact of cyber-attacks. The message is clear: organisations with insufficient cyber-resilience risk being left behind as attackers evolve faster than defences.

 

But while the risks are real, so are the solutions. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill rightly aims to raise the national baseline, yet true readiness will rely on more than legislation. It will depend on how well organisations can adapt to complexity, scale with confidence, and act with speed.

 

Modern IT estates are sprawling and dynamic, stretching across cloud platforms, mobile devices, IoT, and third-party systems. Each connection brings new value but also new exposure. Without real-time insight into these environments, unseen vulnerabilities multiply.

 

That’s why visibility, control, and automation are no longer optional – they’re essential to staying ahead of AI-driven threats and building resilience that lasts.

 

Visibility, autonomy and intelligent control

Today’s threat landscape moves too fast for manual checks and periodic audits. Organisations need real-time insight into their environments, not just to react, but to stay one step ahead. Spotting misconfigurations, detecting anomalies, and responding to threats as they emerge is now essential to maintaining trust and operational continuity.

 

But this isn’t only a technology challenge, it’s an operational imperative. Without automation and the ability to scale, even well-resourced teams can quickly become overwhelmed. The key is embedding agility, speed, and precision into everyday workflows so that resilience becomes part of the organisational fabric, not an afterthought.

 

To truly deliver on the ambitions of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, the conversation must evolve from regulatory compliance to operational readiness. That’s where meaningful, lasting protection begins, and where forward-looking organisations from all sectors can gain the confidence to move faster, safer, and smarter in a complex world.

 

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Dan Jones is Senior Security Adviser, EMEA at Tanium

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and Peera_Sathawirawong