Government introduces the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
The Bill, which supports the government’s Plan for Change, will strengthen national security and protect growth by boosting cyber protections for the services that people and businesses rely on every day.
In the face of increasing cyber threats, it will prevent disruption – keeping the taps running, the lights on and the UK’s transport services moving – while making sure those who supply our vital services have tougher cyber protections, by updating the Network & Information Systems Regulations 2018.
There are three key areas of reform which include expanding the regulatory scope; empowering regulators and enhancing oversight; and ensuring and adaptive regulatory landscape to respond to the evolving threat landscape. Under the proposals:
Medium and large companies providing services like IT management, IT help desk support and cyber security to private and public sector organisations like the NHS, will also be regulated for the first time. Because they hold trusted access across government, critical national infrastructure and business networks, they will need to meet clear security duties. This includes reporting significant or potentially significant cyber incidents promptly to government and their customers as well as having robust plans in place to deal with the consequences
Regulators will be given new powers to designate critical suppliers to the UK’s essential services such as those providing healthcare diagnostics to the NHS or chemicals to a water firm, where they meet the criteria. This would mean they’d have to meet minimum security requirements – shutting down gaps in supply chains criminals could exploit which could cause wider disruption
Enforcement will be modernised, including tougher turnover-based penalties for serious breaches so cutting corners is no longer cheaper than doing the right thing. That’s because companies providing taxpayer services should make sure they have tough protections in place to keep their systems up and running
The Technology Secretary gets new powers to instruct regulators and the organisations they oversee, like NHS trusts and Thames Water, to take specific, proportionate steps to prevent cyber attacks where there is a threat to UK national security. This includes requiring that they beef up their monitoring or isolate high-risk systems to protect and secure essential services
Organisations in scope will need to report more harmful cyber incidents to their regulator and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) within 24 hours, with a full report within 72 hours, to ensure support can be on hand more quickly to help build a stronger national picture of cyber threats. If a data centre, or digital and managed service providers face a significant or potentially significant attack, they will have to notify customers which are likely to be impacted promptly so organisations can act fast to protect their business, people and services.
As data centres keep the UK running, from patient records and payments to email services and AI development, the Bill will bring them into scope of the regulations, ensuring they meet robust cyber security standards.
New safeguards will also cover organisations that manage the flow of electricity to smart appliances like electric vehicle charge points and electrical heating appliances in homes. This will reduce the risk of disruption to consumers using smart-energy appliances, and the grid, bolstering the UK’s energy security.
The Bill represents a step change in how the government protects people in an increasingly dangerous world, supporting the National Security Strategy.
It will help to deliver greater economic stability, protect businesses and working people from the impact of cyber-attacks, and support further investment into the UK’s cyber security sector, which contributed £13.2 billion to the economy in the latest financial year.
techUK welcomes today’s introduction of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to Parliament which signals the government’s ambition to modernise and future-proof the UK’s cyber laws while fostering the resilience that will underpin our economic growth. It marks a significant step forward in prioritising the security of our nation’s essential services.
techUK looks forward to continuing to engage with the government as the Bill makes its way through Parliament, to help ensure that the measures are fit for purpose, practically implementable and can deliver their intended outcomes, protecting the UK from a diverse range of threats and enabling organisations to harness the benefits that technology can offer.
Julian David OBE
CEO of techUK
You can read the press release in full here. techUK will begin analysing the content of the Bill when it is published on the gov.uk website and will share these insights with members.
techUK will be holding a member briefing session next Tuesday 18 November (10.30-12.00) and you can sign up for this here.
If you are a member who has not received techUK’s communications on the Bill and would like to receive updates, please contact Annie Collings at annie.collings@techuk.org.
Submit your feedback
techUK is encouraging members to submit their comments, feedback and questions on the CSR Bill to the techUK team over the coming days and weeks via this form. We are particularly interested to understand any views from members' legal teams, which may help us to identify opportunities for improvement (with amendments) and/or any areas for concern.
