NCSC boss calls for ‘sustained vigilance’ in an aggressive world

Richard Horne, the new CEO of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), is today calling for “sustained vigilance in an increasingly aggressive online world” amid warnings of a growing gap between the risks the country faces, and its ability to counter them.

Speaking at an event in London to mark the publication of the NCSC’s eighth Annual Review, Horne will highlight the growing threat from nation state-backed threat actors, and call for UK Plc to work harder to boost their collective resilience.

“What has struck me more forcefully than anything else since taking the helm at the NCSC is the clearly widening gap between the exposure and threat we face, and the defences that are in place to protect us,” Horne will say.

“What is equally clear to me is that we all need to increase the pace we are working at to keep ahead of our adversaries.

“The NCSC, as the National Technical Authority, has been publishing advice, guidance and frameworks since our inception, in a bid to drive up the cyber security of the UK,” he will say. “The reality is that advice, that guidance, those frameworks need to be put into practice much more across the board.

“We need all organisations, public and private, to see cyber security as both an essential foundation for their operations and a driver for growth. To view cyber security not just as a ‘necessary evil’ or compliance function, but as a business investment, a catalyst for innovation and an integral part of achieving their purpose.”

Echoing remarks made by the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, at a November Nato conference – which led to criticism by security experts who accused the minister of unnecessary hyperbole – Horne will also highlight the “high-stakes” contest the UK and her core allies are currently engaged in against hostile threat actors, especially those backed by China and Russia.

According to Horne, hostile activity against UK targets has increased in its frequency, sophistication and intensity over the past months, with threat actors increasingly leveraging society’s dependence on technology against it to cause maximum disruption.

Highlighting the real-world impact of cyber attacks, Horne will warn there is no room for complacency about the severity of such incidents, whether they be financially or politically motivated.

“The defence and resilience of critical infrastructure, supply chains, the public sector and our wider economy must improve,” he will say. “In the past year, we have seen crippling attacks against institutions that have brought home the true price tag of cyber incidents. 

“The attack against Synnovis showed us how dependent we are on technology for accessing our health services. And the attack against the British Library reminded us that we’re reliant on technology for our access to knowledge. 

“What these and other incidents show is how entwined technology is with our lives and that cyber attacks have human costs.”