The digital landscape of the UK is facing an escalating threat. A recent report from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has revealed a startling statistic:
The UK is now experiencing an average of four "nationally significant" cyber attacks every single week.
This represents a 50% increase from the previous year, a clear indicator that the cyber threat is not only persistent but also rapidly intensifying.
These are not your average cyber incidents. Nationally significant attacks are the most severe, targeting the UK's critical infrastructure, government operations, and major businesses. They are sophisticated, well-resourced operations, often orchestrated by nation-state actors or advanced criminal organisations, with the potential to cause substantial harm to the nation's security and its citizens.
The NCSC's 2025 Annual Review underscores a disturbing trend: cyber attacks in the UK are becoming more frequent, more intense, and more sophisticated. Hostile nations are actively engaging in cyber espionage to pilfer sensitive government and commercial data, while criminal syndicates are deploying crippling ransomware attacks that can bring essential services to a standstill.
The report emphasises that cyber threats are no longer just an IT security issue; they are a national security concern that requires coordinated action across government, business, and society.
The increasing sophistication of these attacks is partly fueled by the use of advanced technologies like AI, making them more difficult to detect and defend against. This escalating threat environment means that for organisations of all sizes, a cyber attack is no longer a matter of "if" but "when."
The implications of this new reality are profound. The traditional cybersecurity posture of simply trying to prevent attacks is no longer tenable. Organisations must now operate under the assumption that they will be targeted and, therefore, must shift their focus towards building cyber resilience. This means developing the capability to detect attacks swiftly, respond effectively, and recover rapidly.
The 50% year-on-year increase in nationally significant attacks is a clear warning that the threat is accelerating. This trend is likely to continue as geopolitical tensions persist, criminal groups become more adept, and the attack surface expands with the increasing adoption of digitalisation, cloud services, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The NCSC’s message is clear: prevention alone isn’t enough. With an average of four nationally significant incidents every week and ransomware still dominating, organisations need baseline protection and resilience for when something gets through.
Think of this in three layers: (1) minimum controls, (2) prove & improve security, (3) prepare to survive an incident.
If you haven’t already got Cyber Essentials, start there. It’s the UK government-backed baseline that blocks the most common attack routes, and NCSC is explicitly urging businesses to adopt it.
Cyber Essentials focuses on five core control areas:
Firewalls & secure gateways
Secure configuration (hardening devices/cloud services)
Access control (least privilege + MFA)
Malware protection
Patch management/update control
Why this matters: Most successful attacks still begin with commodity techniques such as phishing, exposed services, unpatched systems, and weak credentials. Cyber Essentials is designed to close those doors.
Because these attacks are increasingly sophisticated and fast-moving, resilience is what keeps you operational. NCSC frames cyber risk as a board-level issue and stresses recoverability.
Key resilience moves:
Keep offline/immutable backups
Test restores regularly, not just “we have backups.”
Ensure critical systems have known recovery times (RTOs).
Have a clear runbook: who does what, when, and how decisions get made.
Include comms to customers/regulators/media.
Run tabletop exercises at least annually.
Centralised logging, alerting, and investigation workflow.
If you can’t detect an attack in hours, you’re giving attackers days.
Cyber Essentials reduces common risk, but nationally significant incidents are not common. Attackers will look for what’s unique to your organisation: custom apps, cloud misconfigurations, supply-chain gaps, identity weaknesses.
That’s where penetration testing fits:
Finds exploitable paths before attackers do
Tests real-world impact (not just a checklist)
Helps prioritise fixes based on business risk
Often reveals “unknown unknowns” in cloud, SaaS, and internal networks.
Suggested timing:
Annual external + internal pen tests
After major system changes (new platform, cloud migration, acquisitions)
Before compliance deadlines (DTAC, ISO 27001, SOC 2, etc.)
A lot of major incidents still start with people, not because staff are “careless,” but because attackers are excellent at social engineering.
What to do:
Mandatory MFA everywhere (especially email, admin accounts, cloud consoles)
Phishing simulation + short, frequent training
Strong joiner/mover/leaver processes to stop privilege creep.
NCSC keeps highlighting that smaller suppliers are often the route into bigger targets. If you’re in healthcare, CNI, or a regulated chain, you’ll be judged on supplier assurance.
Minimum actions:
Require suppliers to hold Cyber Essentials (or equivalent)
Review access levels and enforce MFA/least privilege for third parties
Monitor vendor security alerts and exploit news.
The time to act is now. The cyber threat facing the UK is real, and it is growing. By taking a proactive and strategic approach to cybersecurity, organisations can not only protect themselves but also contribute to the overall security and resilience of the United Kingdom.
References: [1] National Cyber Security Centre. (2025). NCSC Annual Review 2025.