Adopting a holistic view of CNI security

There’s – rightly – a heightened awareness of the numerous threats facing our nation’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), in light of the continued turbulence of the geopolitical landscape and the growing scale and sophistication of cyber-attacks. As a result, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned that far too many mission-critical systems are vulnerable to attack, with legacy infrastructure unable to keep pace with numerous evolving threats.

While one may assume that this is simply a question of updating legacy security systems and following current cyber best practice, the reality of the situation is more complex…

Critical infrastructure now spans physical sites, edge devices, public and private Cloud platforms, and – critically – a growing range of third-party providers, all of whom are intrinsic to maintaining a robust security posture. It doesn’t matter how strong an organisation’s own security ecosystem is if third parties who connect to its infrastructure lack the controls needed to operate to the same standards.

Bear in mind that when we talk about supply chain security, we’re no longer just talking about the physical security of goods in transit. The interconnected nature of modern, global infrastructure and ongoing convergence of IT and OT assets means that an increasing amount of data is transferred in and out of CNI systems (i.e. file IMPEX) than ever before – some of which is highly impactful on the performance of operational assets and may have high levels of sensitivity and confidentiality. And as AI increasingly establishes itself across supply chains for everything from data analysis to the automation of routine processes, concerns over the integrity, security, and sovereignty of CNI data will only increase.

Any point of transfer represents a potential ‘backdoor’ into CNI systems that bad actors will not hesitate to exploit. Indeed, we have already seen this in numerous high-profile incidents like the attack on the US Treasury in 2024, where hackers were able to access more than 3,000 internal documents via an IT contractor’s infrastructure, or the 2021 incident where the popular SolarWinds IT management platform was compromised, allowing bad actors to send administrator-level commands to users’ systems.

A robust cyber security posture must therefore accommodate all third-party providers and technology platforms, ensuring they are subject to the same standards as internal teams, with processes in place to ensure best practice is always followed. A standards-based approach is strongly advisable here, ideally based on the following frameworks and accreditations:

These standards provide a clear baseline for security best practice – both physical and digital – across all areas of a supply chain, and so should be considered when vetting potential third-party providers, with regular audits in place to ensure systems and processes remain fit for purpose.

This will very much be a journey rather than a one-off project, as IT/OT convergence increases, cyber threats evolve, and AI establishes itself across CNI workflows, but the result will be a new model of cyber-secured engineering that ensures dataflows remain secure, seamless, and fully sovereign at all times, optimising the delivery of mission-critical services across the UK.

For more information on the CNI sector’s ongoing digital journey, our most recent report – Translating the new regulatory standards into a sustainable cyber strategy – is available for download here.

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Meet the team

Jill Broom

Head of Cyber Resilience, techUK

Jill leads the techUK Cyber Resilience programme, having originally joined techUK in October 2020 as a Programme Manager for the Cyber and Central Government programmes. She is responsible for managing techUK's work across the cyber security ecosystem, bringing industry together with key stakeholders across the public and private sectors. Jill also provides the industry secretariat for the Cyber Growth Partnership, the industry and government conduit for supporting the growth of the sector. A key focus of her work is to strengthen the public–private partnership across cyber to support further development of UK cyber security and resilience policy.

Before joining techUK, Jill worked as a Senior Caseworker for an MP, advocating for local communities, businesses and individuals, so she is particularly committed to techUK’s vision of harnessing the power of technology to improve people’s lives. Jill is also an experienced editorial professional and has delivered copyediting and writing services for public-body and SME clients as well as publishers.

Email:: [email protected]
Website:: www.techuk.org/
LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-broom-19aa824

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Annie Collings

Senior Programme Manager, Cyber Resilience, techUK

Annie is the Programme Manager for Cyber Resilience at techUK. She first joined as the Programme Manager for Cyber Security and Central Government in September 2023.

In her role, Annie supports the Cyber Security SME Forum, engaging regularly with key government and industry stakeholders to advance the growth and development of SMEs in the cyber sector. Annie also coordinates events, engages with policy makers and represents techUK at a number of cyber security events.

Before joining techUK, Annie was an Account Manager at a specialist healthcare agency, where she provided public affairs support to a wide range of medical technology clients. She also gained experience as an intern in both an MP’s constituency office and with the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed. Annie holds a degree in International Relations from Nottingham Trent University.

Email:: [email protected]
Twitter:: anniecollings24
LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-collings-270150158/

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Olivia Staples

Junior Programme Manager - Cyber Resilience, techUK

Olivia Staples joined techUK in May 2025 as a Junior Programme Manager in the Cyber Resilience team.

She supports the programs mission to promote cyber resilience by engaging key commercial and government stakeholders to shape the cyber resilience policy towards increased security and industry growth. Olivia assists in member engagement, event facilitation and communications support.

Before joining techUK, Olivia gained experience in research, advocacy, and strategic communications across several international organisations. At the Munich Security Conference, she supported stakeholder engagement and contributed to strategic communications. She also worked closely with local and national government stakeholders in Spain and Italy, where she was involved in policy monitoring and advocacy for both public and private sector clients.

Olivia holds an MSc in Political Science (Comparative Politics and Conflict Studies) from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies from University College London (UCL).

Outside of tech, Olivia enjoys volunteering with local charities and learning Norwegian.

Email:: [email protected]

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Adopting a holistic view of CNI security