The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a stark warning about rising risks to the nation’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), reporting that current resilience levels fall short of what is required to protect vital services.
“The threat is evolving. While we are making progress building resilience in our most critical sectors, we aren’t where we need to be,” the NCSC states in its latest review.
Dominic Trott, Director of Strategy and Alliances at Orange Cyberdefense, underlined the urgency of strengthening protections: “Thwarting cyber-attacks targeting critical national infrastructure has always been important, as the consequences of failing to do so are profound.”
The report highlights how cyber threats are changing, identifying nation-states and state-aligned groups—especially those associated with Russia, China, Iran and North Korea—as primary concerns. The conflict in Ukraine and a broader rise in aggressive cyber activity have increased the risk to the UK’s critical systems and services.
Over the past year the UK experienced major cyber incidents against essential services, including a high-profile attack on Royal Mail by the LockBit group and a breach at software supplier Advanced that forced NHS staff to revert to pen and paper for some operations.
The NCSC emphasises the international scope of the threat, pointing to significant attacks on CNI in Ireland, the US and other countries. A detailed account from Denmark’s cybersecurity agency recounted an intense two-week campaign that targeted more than 20 critical assets, illustrating how quickly attackers can exploit weaknesses to cause broad disruption.
The review also highlights a persistent imbalance in priorities among CNI operators. In the private sector, commercial pressures—such as the need to deliver profits and satisfy shareholders—can clash with the investments and actions required for robust cybersecurity. Public sector organisations, while not driven by profit, can still see service delivery priorities undermine resilience.
To confront these challenges, the NCSC and UK government are working to set mandatory resilience targets for all CNI sectors by 2025. The aim is to ensure operators across the board can defend against the most common and damaging threats. The NCSC is also strengthening international collaboration, sharing attack data and lessons learned to build global resilience through collective insight.
“Any cyber-resilience programme within CNI firms must begin with the security fundamentals,” Trott advised, stressing the importance of staff awareness and basic security hygiene. “Educating employees on the threats they face and encouraging good cyber practices is the first line of defence.”
He added that prioritising patch management to keep critical systems updated and free of known vulnerabilities is essential: timely patches can stop many breaches before they begin.
The NCSC’s review also notes that new technologies and trends add complexity to the threat landscape. The adoption of generative AI tools and the shift to renewable energy systems in the energy sector introduce additional attack surfaces and dependencies, requiring security strategies that extend beyond basic hygiene measures.
“Orange Cyberdefense welcomes the NCSC and UK government’s push for a nationwide, ecosystem-level approach to resilience,” Trott said, supporting coordinated action across sectors and organisations.
As threats evolve, the NCSC’s call for unified effort and stronger baseline security across industries underscores the necessity of collective action to protect the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure.
(Photo by Philipp Katzenberger on Unsplash)
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