Cloud: a key digital enabler and part of our critical national infrastructure

The infrastructure that supports our nation’s mission-critical services is now truly interconnected, with both physical and digital systems sharing non-stop flows of data. The advantages of digitally connected infrastructure are numerous, particularly in terms of optimising the availability of time-critical data and improving the efficiency and delivery of what are deemed the UK’s essential services. As a result, this interconnected model of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) has brought together many areas that were previously heavily siloed, often to great effect, but all the potential benefits must be carefully balanced against a growing range of security concerns, particularly with the emerging threat of AI-powered attacks from global bad actors.

In response, the ongoing integration of Cloud platforms and edge computing with on-premises infrastructure and OT systems must be approached in a way that avoids creating any hidden attack vectors that can potentially be exploited. Indeed, there is a strong case to be made that Cloud platforms and the technology providers that support them should be considers as part of the UK’s CNI, operating to the same standards of best practice around security, compliance, and disaster recovery.

Considerable strides have been made in this area, so let’s consider what lessons have been learned that should be applied to future Cloud deployments…

A new perspective on compliance

Cloud providers should be evaluated based on their ability to fulfil the most stringent requirements of key regulations. CAF should be treated as the baseline for all other compliance obligations, including the IEC-62443 standard, the new Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, and the NCSC NIS 2018 directive. This will not only provide a clear standard of best practice around the security and resilience of Cloud platforms, but ensure CNI organisations’ digital transformation initiatives do not conflict with their evolving compliance obligations.

‘Secure by design’ as the new norm

This is still the biggest concern around digital transformation for many in the CNI sector, and while the security of Cloud platforms has evolved exponentially in recent years, the ongoing convergence of IT and OT systems means a more holistic view is needed – a ‘secure by design’ approach, where systems’ security is factored into the design at the earliest stages, rather than overlaid afterwards.

True data sovereignty, beyond the data centre

With high-profile Cloud providers now conceding that their ability to guarantee critical data will never be transferred out of the UK is limited, in spite of previous guarantees of full sovereignty and in violation of the Data Protection Act 2018, simply hosting in a UK-based data centre is no longer enough. Our definition of ‘sovereignty’ must expand to encompass the different ways data is stored, managed, and transferred. At the bare minimum, all data must be managed by UK NSV staff, fully encrypted, both at rest and in transit, and accessed on a per-user basis. For this reason, there is a strong argument to be made for the design and deployment of next-gen hybrid environments that combine Cloud and on-premises infrastructure to achieve the desired result.

Expecting the unexpected

With CNI systems, the very highest standards of uptime are non-negotiable. Even the briefest disruption can result in services not being available when they are needed, putting lives at risk. All Cloud platforms – public, private, and hybrid – should be designed with redundancy in mind, avoiding any single points of failure, with the same principles applied to the underlying networks that support them. This must include robust disaster recovery and business continuity measures, ensuring critical systems and data can be restored as quickly as possible if a breach does occur.

A CNI-ready Cloud emerges

Cloud’s role in CNI’s ongoing digital journey will continue to evolve as new standards of best practice establish themselves and legacy infrastructure is phased out in favour of highly scalable, agile platforms that can support the 24/7 availability of critical services. The potential improvements to citizen outcomes are enormous, but bringing them to life will require close collaboration between CNI organisations, their Cloud providers, and any other third-parties involved in the wider supply chains.

Based on the conversations myself and my colleagues across the Exponential-e Group are currently having with organisations across the sector – from Government, defence, and healthcare departments, to utilities providers, manufacturers, and emergency services – the journey is already well underway, and if we remain focused, methodical, and focused on citizen outcomes, will yield great things.

For more information on these topics, our most recent report – Translating the new regulatory standards into a sustainable cyber strategy – is available for download here.