The UK government said it would be introducing new measures to make online public services more secure and resilient, so people are able to use them with confidence.

Its Cyber Action Plan, which is backed by more than £210 million, was published on 6^th January and lays out how the UK government plans to meet growing and more complex threats online. The strategy will be driven by the new Cyber Unit, the government said, with the goal to rapidly improve cyber defences and digital resilience across government departments and the wider public sector so “people can trust that their data and services are protected”.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said via an online statement: “Realising these benefits depends on trust. As services move online, they must be secure and resilient.

“Cyberattacks can take vital public services offline in minutes, disrupting lives and undermining confidence. The new plan addresses this challenge head-on.”

Building greater national resilience

The news comes as the government seeks approval for the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which sets out clear expectations for businesses providing services to government to boost their cyber resilience.

Having strong defences across entire supply chains – including data centres, healthcare, energy and water sectors – aims to bolster national resilience and protect services against cybercriminals.

The government said the plan should enable clearer visibility of risks, stronger central action on the most complex challenges, faster response to cyber threats and incidents and higher overall resilience across government.

“Cyberattacks can take vital public services offline in minutes – disrupting our digital services and our very way of life,” digital government minister Ian Murray said. “This plan sets a new bar to bolster the defences of our public sector, putting cybercriminals on warning that we are going further and faster to protect the UK’s businesses and public services alike.”

He added: “This is how we keep people safe, services running, and build a government the public can trust in the digital age.”

During an age of connectivity, more essential services are moving online than ever before – which has sparked conversations over digital literacy and public safety.

“Establishing a dedicated Cyber Unit to coordinate risk management and incident response takes these benefits a step further, making it easier for organisations and departments across the public sector to share intelligence, apply consistent standards and act quickly and effectively when incidents occur, reducing disruption to essential services,” commented Ian Bowell, virtual CISO at Thrive.

Public sector and business partner to ensure digital accountability

The government also wants to take further steps in UK cyber defence – which includes a new Software Security Ambassador Scheme to drive adoption of the Software Security Code of Practice. This is a voluntary project designed to reduce software supply chain attacks and has leading businesses Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Sage, Santander and NCC Group, among others, as ambassadors.

Investment hopes to curb public sector risk and hold organisations to account for fixing vulnerabilities, marking a significant change to cyber defence. Included are plans for minimum standards and more hands-on support to minimise the impact of a cyber incident.

Plans for greater cyber resilience could see public sector and enterprise working closer together, supporting the government’s desire for national renewal – which includes more reliable digital services to support growth and protect citizens.

Bowell added: “Encouraging secure development practices and greater accountability among vendors will strengthen collective defences and build confidence across the sector.

“Automation and AI can enhance detection, accelerate containment and improve visibility across complex environments, but it’s the people and process that remain at the heart of any effective defence.”

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