Rethinking Trust in a Time of Cyber Turbulence

The recent measures taken by major UK retailers in response to cyber attacks, including system shutdowns, restrictions on remote access, and enforcing in-person verification, go beyond mere operational disruption. These actions expose a fundamental issue in how organisations approach trust, identity, and control.

When a business has to ask, “Are we sure who’s on this call?”, it reveals a deeper issue. The problem isn’t only external cyber threats; it’s about the systems and assumptions that allow those vulnerabilities to exist.

Reactive responses to security risks represent a mindset rooted in an era when data was centralised, identity was static, and threats were predominantly external.

Today, the landscape is different. Organisations must validate people, processes, and permissions across distributed systems, remote workers, and an expanding digital perimeter. The breakdown isn’t just in the hardware or software; it’s in the trust models that assume access equals security.

At the heart of these challenges is the inability to verify digital interactions confidently. Consider these scenarios:

The fundamental problem? Organisations lack the mechanisms to consistently verify participants, authorisations, or information flow with confidence. It’s not just a question of defending against AI-driven threats like deepfakes; it’s about addressing the absence of verifiable trust in every interaction.

Every business today operates, in some capacity, as a digital trust platform. It’s no longer enough to simply protect data. Organisations must prove, in real time, the integrity of every interaction. This applies whether it’s an employee logging into a system, a supplier sharing sensitive documents, or a contractor joining a virtual meeting.

For sectors managing personal, financial, or sensitive data, trust must be enforced through methods that are cryptographic, consistent, and instantaneous. Trust cannot be inferred; it needs to be something tangible, verifiable, and unfailing.

Looking forward, organisations need to implement trust models that don’t just react to threats but actively prevent them. Trust must move beyond being an assumption and become a measurable, enforceable standard for every digital interaction.

The need to rethink trust models has never been more urgent. Organisations must build systems that enable verification without compromising functionality or efficiency. After all, in a world where anyone could claim to belong in a virtual room, the ability to prove or disprove that claim with confidence and transparency becomes paramount.

To explore solutions that establish proactive and verifiable trust, visit Origin Secured.

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Sue Daley OBE

Director, Technology and Innovation

Laura Foster

Associate Director - Technology and Innovation, techUK

Chris Hazell

Programme Manager - Cloud, Tech and Innovation, techUK

Usman Ikhlaq

Programme Manager - Artificial Intelligence, techUK

Elis Thomas

Programme Manager, Tech and Innovation, techUK

Tess Buckley

Programme Manager - Digital Ethics and AI Safety, techUK

Rethinking Trust in a Time of Cyber Turbulence

Stuart Kenny

Digital Identity programme activities