{"id":6242,"date":"2025-12-18T11:07:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T11:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.d2na.com\/?p=6242"},"modified":"2026-05-27T14:08:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T13:08:01","slug":"cyber-security-in-the-uk-public-sector-why-were-in-the-firing-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.d2na.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/18\/cyber-security-in-the-uk-public-sector-why-were-in-the-firing-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyber Security in the UK Public Sector: Why we&#8217;re in the firing line"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\"><\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">mins read<\/span><\/span>\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"6242\" class=\"elementor elementor-6242\" data-elementor-settings=\"{&quot;ha_cmc_init_switcher&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5a959de elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"99529\" data-id=\"5a959de\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e5c4423\" data-eae-slider=\"80701\" data-id=\"e5c4423\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c19c98b elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"c19c98b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.d2na.com\/index.php\/cyberascend\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/www.d2na.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Website-Image.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-6245\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-483054a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-eae-slider=\"92106\" data-id=\"483054a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_eae_slider elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5913dfc\" data-eae-slider=\"6289\" data-id=\"5913dfc\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-62b48e9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"62b48e9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The UK Public Sector is in the firing line&#8230; here&#8217;s why&#8230;<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc00548 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"dc00548\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>The UK is being inundated by cyberattacks, legacy kit isn\u2019t helping, and AI has changed the game. The good news? There\u2019s a clear set of moves we can make fast to shore up resilience across government and public services.<\/strong><\/p><p>The UK is the second most targeted nation for cyber threats, accounting for 5.6% of all observed incidents in the first half of 2025 (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/corporate-responsibility\/dmc\/en-us\/corporate-responsibility\/cybersecurity\/microsoft-digital-defense-report-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Microsoft Digital Defence Report 2025<\/em><\/a>). That\u2019s not a league table anyone wants to lead. It reflects the strategic importance of our public services, the sensitivity of our data, and the reality that many organisations still rely on older, harder-to-secure systems.<\/p><p>The majority of incidents investigated this year were criminally motivated rather than purely nation\u2011state. The big three:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Data theft (37%)<\/strong> &#8211; credentials, tokens, and citizen records are gold.<\/li><li><strong>Extortion (33%)<\/strong> &#8211; ransomware and follow\u2011on pressure tactics.<\/li><li><strong>Destruction\/human\u2011operated ransomware (19%) <\/strong>&#8211;\u00a0operational disruption with knock\u2011on effects to public services.<\/li><\/ul><p>Government organisations, research &amp; academia, and IT are among the most frequently impacted sectors, unsurprising given their data sensitivity and societal importance.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d0681b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6d0681b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Why the UK Is in the Crosshairs<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b3bb77e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b3bb77e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><strong>Second only to the US<\/strong>: The UK accounts for 5.6% of global cyberattacks, making us one of the hottest targets worldwide.<\/li><li><strong>Public sector is a magnet<\/strong>: Government agencies, research bodies, and academia are among the most attacked sectors globally.<\/li><li><strong>Legacy tech + tight budgets<\/strong>: Many public services run on outdated systems with limited IT teams. Easy pickings for attackers.<\/li><li><strong>Nation-state interest<\/strong>: Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are all expanding operations, targeting UK government and research sectors for espionage and disruption.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4e6d4a8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4e6d4a8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/www.d2na.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Cityscape.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-6244\" alt=\"London Cityscape\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0d0728b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0d0728b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>AI: friend and foe?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b21c214 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b21c214\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Let\u2019s be blunt: AI is now part of the attacker\u2019s toolkit; from scaled social engineering to real\u2011time evasion. But it\u2019s also a lifeline for defenders&#8230; AI\u2011driven analytics can spot suspect behaviour early, automate containment, and reduce alert fatigue. The catch? AI systems themselves need securing (think prompt injection and data poisoning). If we\u2019re adopting AI at pace, we must also build AI governance into our security fabric. In an AI\u2011first era, defending AI with AI isn\u2019t optional; it\u2019s a strategic advantage.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f993ee elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2f993ee\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>So what&#8217;s the plan?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-504e68d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"504e68d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Modernise the foundations<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Prioritise cloud migration for resilience and consistent controls.<\/li><li>Move decisively to Zero Trust identity, device health, least\u2011privilege access, continuous evaluation.<\/li><li>Kill off legacy exposure points: patch aggressively, retire end\u2011of\u2011life systems, segment critical workloads.<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Turn on AI\u2011assisted defence<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Deploy behaviour\u2011based detection and automated remediation (for example suspend suspicious accounts, force resets).<\/li><li>Safeguard your AI\/ML pipelines: protect models from poisoning, lock down prompts and data sources, audit outcomes.<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Credential hygiene and infostealer defence<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Assume attackers will log in rather than break in.<\/li><li>Mandate MFA everywhere, rotate tokens after infections, and monitor for token misuse across cloud apps.<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Supply chain &amp; procurement discipline<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Require secure\u2011by\u2011design commitments from suppliers, plus SBOMs (software bill of materials) for transparency.<\/li><li>Standardise post\u2011market monitoring and vulnerability handling. Bake this into contracts.<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Tabletop and incident drill<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Run a cross\u2011government or multi-agency exercise simulating a ransomware hit to a critical service.<\/li><li>Agree playbooks: rapid isolation, restoration priorities, public comms, and inter\u2011agency escalation.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2bd702c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2bd702c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>What Can You Do (Starting Today):<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ddc1892 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ddc1892\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li>Lock down identities &#8211; MFA everywhere, no excuses.<\/li><li>Stop infostealers &#8211; block risky scripts, teach staff about sneaky tricks like ClickFix.<\/li><li>Plan for the worst &#8211; test backups, segment networks.<\/li><li>Bake security into procurement &#8211; demand secure-by-design and transparency.<\/li><li>Think ahead &#8211; start prepping for quantum-safe cryptography now.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0ce8b1a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0ce8b1a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Ready to Take Action?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7b2473b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7b2473b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Don\u2019t wait for the next headline. Start with the basics today and begin your journey with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.d2na.com\/index.php\/cyberascend\/\">CyberAscend<\/a>.<\/p><p>We also have tailored CyberAscend journeys for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.d2na.com\/index.php\/cyberascend-fire-rescue\/\">Fire &amp; Rescue<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.d2na.com\/index.php\/cyberascend-lrg\/\">Government<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.d2na.com\/index.php\/cyberascend-police\/\">Police <\/a>and other public sector entities.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\"><\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">mins read<\/span><\/span>The UK Public Sector is in the firing line&#8230; here&#8217;s why&#8230; The UK is being inundated by cyberattacks, legacy kit isn\u2019t helping, and AI has changed the game. The good news? There\u2019s a clear set of moves we can make fast to shore up resilience across government and public services. The UK is the second [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,479],"tags":[403,285],"class_list":["post-6242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-public-sector","tag-blog","tag-cyber-security"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cyber Security in the UK Public Sector: Why we&#039;re in the firing line - D2NA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The UK is being inundated by cyberattacks, legacy kit isn\u2019t helping, and AI has changed the game. 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