With its new Annual Review, the security organisation stated that the UK needs to accelerate work to keep pace with the changing threats posed to key sectors, including water, electricity, communications, transport and financial networks, and internet connectivity.

Specifically, over the last year, the NCSC has observed the emergence of “a new class of cyber adversary” in the form of state-aligned actors — including those from Russia, China, and Iran — who are ideologically motivated, and whose aims mainly revolve around having a disruptive or destructive impact.

For instance, in May this year, and alongside international security agencies, the NCSC issued advice to help organisations involved with critical national infrastructure more readily detect state-sponsored activity from China.

Similarly, at the start of the year, in January, the NCSC advised caution regarding phishing attacks from cyber-actors in Russia and Iran, who were targeting specific sectors and individuals — such as government organisations, defence, academia, and politicians — as to gain access to sensitive information.

Concerning the resiliency of the UK’s critical national infrastructure, and how infrastructure is becoming an increasingly attractive target for cyber-actors, the Review noted that “The threat is evolving. While we are making progress building resilience in our most critical sectors, we aren’t where we need to be.

“We will continue to work with partners across government, industry and regulators to accelerate this work and keep pace with the changing threat, including tracking their resilience in line with targets set out by the Deputy Prime Minister.”

The Annual Review also underscored the way in which artificial intelligence — which has exploded in usage over the last year — can accelerate and enhance activities from adversaries through the increased accessibility and speed that’s offered. The NCSC shared that there’s “now a significant amount of activity across the NCSC and wider government to assess and respond to the potential threats and risk posed by AI.”

It also highlighted how readily-available advanced technologies and tactics can be utilised by adversaries to wreak havoc and disruption on democracy. With upcoming elections in the UK and US, among other western countries, the NCSC stipulated that the UK and its allies can’t be complacent to the threat of foreign interference for influencing democratic processes.

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Speaking on this year’s Annual Review, Lindy Cameron, the chief executive of the NCSC, remarked: “The last year has seen a significant evolution in the cyber threat to the UK – not least because of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine but also from the availability and capability of emerging tech.

“As our Annual Review shows, the NCSC and our partners have supported government, the public and private sector, citizens, and organisations of all sizes across the UK to raise awareness of the cyber threats and improve our collective resilience.

“Beyond the present challenges, we are very aware of the threats on the horizon, including rapid advancements in tech and the growing market for cyber capabilities. We are committed to facing those head on and keeping the UK at the forefront of cyber security.”