UK Cyber Security and Resilience Bill - a landmark step toward national digital protection

The UK Government's introduction of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill marks a historic moment, as the first UK law to feature "cyber security" in its title.

This landmark legislation represents a major evolution in how the UK protects its critical national infrastructure (CNI) and digital economy from escalating cyber threats. The Bill builds significantly on the existing Network and Information Systems Regulations (NIS).

The Bill introduces a series of measures designed to modernise and strengthen the UK's cyber defences, including:

• Expanding the scope of NIS regulations to cover new sectors such as data centres, managed service providers, and energy flexibility providers
• Designating 'Critical Suppliers' who will now be directly subject to core security and incident reporting obligations
• Enhancing incident reporting duties for NIS-regulated organisations, reflecting the growing complexity and risk of cyber threats

This legislation comes at a time when cyber threats are intensifying. NCC Group's recent report, The State of Supply Chain Security 2025, found that 68% of organisations expect supply chain attacks to grow in severity and scale. The Bill directly addresses these concerns by bringing critical suppliers into regulatory scope and tightening incident reporting requirements.

Commenting on the Bill, Karen Fryatt, UK Market Lead at NCC Group, said:

"The introduction of the UK's first ever law with 'cyber security' in its title is a landmark moment. This is an essential piece of legislation that brings the cyber rules governing critical infrastructure in line with modern threats, economic realities and technological developments, while maintaining crucial flexibility to keep pace with the ever-changing cyber landscape.

"The Bill will help tackle rising supply chain risks and strengthen incident reporting. However, it must not be seen as a silver bullet. There are still important questions around incentivising secure technology development, uplifting SME cyber resilience, and modernising the UK's cybercrime laws.

"Businesses must take heed. If you're among the many organisations that will, for the first time, fall under UK cyber regulations, now is the time to prepare."