NCSC Cyber Alert: What UK Businesses Must Do Now Following the Middle East Conflict

The National Cyber Security Centre has issued an urgent advisory warning UK businesses and critical national infrastructure operators of a heightened Iranian cyber threat. Here's what it means for your organisation and the steps you need to take today.

If your business has supply chains, offices, or technology providers with links to the Middle East, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has a direct message for you: act now.

In a new advisory published this week, the NCSC has warned that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has created a significantly elevated indirect cyber threat to UK organisations. With Iranian state-linked cyber actors confirmed as active, and Iran-linked hacktivist groups increasingly targeting Western businesses and infrastructure, the risk of collateral cyberattacks hitting UK businesses is now assessed as almost certain for those with regional exposure.

This isn't a warning aimed only at governments or large enterprises. Over four in ten UK businesses experienced a cybersecurity breach or attack in the last 12 months.

The threat landscape just became more complex. Here's what you need to know.

What the NCSC Has Said

The NCSC has assessed that while there is currently no significant change in the direct cyber threat from Iran to the UK, the fast-evolving situation means that it could change rapidly. More immediately, there is an almost certain heightened indirect cyber threat to organisations with a presence or supply chains in the Middle East.

NCSC Director for National Resilience, Jonathon Ellison, stated that it is critical all UK organisations remain alert to the risk of cyber compromise, particularly those with assets or supply chains in areas of regional tension, and are strongly encouraged to act now to strengthen their cybersecurity posture.

Iranian state and Iran-linked cyber actors are confirmed to currently maintain at least some capability to conduct offensive cyber operations, and Iran has already been linked to attempted attacks on US and UK critical national infrastructure as part of the ongoing conflict.

Why UK Businesses Are in the Firing Line

You might assume that a geopolitical conflict in the Middle East has little bearing on a UK business with no direct operations there. That assumption is increasingly dangerous.

Iran-linked hacktivist groups don't restrict their targeting to obvious strategic assets. They pursue disruptive, high-visibility attacks designed to create maximum noise and instability. Iran's cyber playbook is well-established and increasingly blended with criminal tactics from disabling financial websites to destructive data-wiping attacks on government networks.

UK businesses caught in the crossfire of these campaigns can face service outages, data loss, and reputational damage with very little warning.

There's also the supply chain dimension. Only 14% of UK businesses currently review their suppliers' cybersecurity practices, yet supply chain attacks are increasing.

If one of your suppliers has operations or technology dependencies in the Middle East, your business may have indirect exposure you're not aware of.

Who Faces the Highest Risk?

Organisations with Middle East supply chains or vendors

These organisations are the NCSC's primary concern. Even if your own systems are secure, a compromised supplier can create an entry point into your network. Reviewing your supply chain exposure is the single most important first step for many businesses.

Critical National Infrastructure operators

This includes energy, water, transport, healthcare, and data centre operators, who face a particularly elevated threat. The NCSC has warned that the severity of state-led threats is being underestimated, and the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, supply chains, and the public sector must improve.

CNI operators are being specifically directed to pre-emptively review the NCSC's guidance on preparing for severe cyber threats, before an incident occurs, not after.

All UK businesses, regardless of sector, should prepare for the risk of collateral impacts from DDoS attacks, phishing campaigns, and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) targeting, the three threat vectors the NCSC has explicitly flagged in this advisory.

The Scale of the Challenge

UK businesses experienced an estimated 8.58 million cybercrimes in the past year, according to the Government's Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025, with phishing remaining the dominant attack type. Ransomware, meanwhile, has doubled in prevalence — from under 0.5% of businesses affected in 2024 to 1% in 2025, equating to an estimated 19,000 UK organisations.

The NCSC is now asking UK organisations to layer geopolitical threat awareness on top of an already demanding baseline.

Despite cybersecurity remaining a high priority for 72% of UK businesses, only 27% now have a board member responsible for cybersecurity, down from 38% in 2021.

This governance gap is precisely the kind of vulnerability that state-linked actors look to exploit, and it's one that the NCSC is actively calling out.

7 Actions UK Businesses Should Take Right Now

1. Audit your supply chain exposure.

Identify which of your suppliers, technology vendors, or partners have operations or infrastructure in the Middle East. You can't manage risk you haven't mapped.

2. Strengthen your external attack surface.

Review internet-facing assets, ensure software is patched and up to date, and tighten access controls, particularly for remote users and third-party systems.

3. Prepare your incident response plan.

Know exactly what your organisation will do in the event of a DDoS attack, a phishing compromise, or a ransomware deployment. An untested plan is not a plan.

4. Train your staff on phishing awareness.

Phishing accounts for 85% of cyber breaches reported by UK businesses. 

With geopolitical tensions providing ready-made pretexts for social engineering attacks, staff awareness has never been more important.

5. Get Cyber Essentials certified.

Research shows that organisations implementing Cyber Essentials controls are 92% less likely to make cyber insurance claims.

It's a cost-effective baseline that also signals security maturity to clients, partners, and insurers.

6. Sign up to the NCSC Early Warning service.

This free service provides real-time alerts about security issues affecting your networks. It requires minimal effort to set up and gives you meaningful early visibility of threats targeting your systems.

7. Report suspicious activity.

Any concerning cyber activity should be reported to the NCSC's Incident Management team. Early reporting helps the NCSC build a broader picture of the threat landscape, and can accelerate specialist support for your organisation.

For CNI Operators: Additional Steps

If your organisation falls within the UK's critical national infrastructure, the NCSC's advisory carries additional weight. Beyond the steps above, CNI operators should:

• Pre-emptively review the NCSC's guidance on preparing for severe cyber threats, available on the NCSC website
• Consider the physical security dimension, the NCSC is directing CNI organisations to the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) for guidance on sabotage prevention and personnel security
• Explore best practice standards such as ISO 27001, which provides a robust framework for managing security risks, including risk assessment, incident management, and continuous improvement.

What This Means for Your Business

The NCSC's message is unambiguous. Cybersecurity is now a matter of business survival and national resilience, and every organisation, big or small, needs to act now to make themselves harder to successfully attack.

At Periculo, we work with organisations across the UK to help them understand their real-world cyber risk, secure their supply chains, and build the resilience they need to operate confidently in a threat landscape that shows no signs of easing.

Whether you're starting with Cyber Essentials, reviewing your supplier assurance processes, or need a penetration test to understand where your vulnerabilities actually lie, the time to act is now, not when an incident forces your hand.

At Periculo, we can help you assess your risk, address your gaps, and put the right defences in place. Get in touch today.