Labour trails plans to fight cyberattacks
The UK government is set to take further action to bolster national cyber resilience, CityAM understands, as cybercrime continues to surge across the country.
High-profile attacks on businesses, from smaller firms to major supply chains, have unveiled deep cracks and vulnerabilities in the economy.
Tech secretary Liz Kendall told CityAM: “We’re working really closely with companies and experts in this area to make sure we are as well prepared as we possibly can be, both as individual companies and as a government”.
“And you’ll be hearing more soon about further action we’ll be taking to make sure we absolutely have that national cyber resilience which is so critical for government and for the economy.”
Rising cyber threats
Her comments come as the UK faces an unprecedented surge in cyberattacks.
According to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), 204 nationally significant cyber incidents were handled in the year to August 2025, up from 89 the previous year.
The same report found 18 of these were classified as ‘highly significant’, representing threats capable of seriously affecting sensitive data, or key government functions.
What’s more, almost half of all incidents were linked to Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actors, including highly capable criminal gangs.
High-profile attacks have already illustrated the economic impact of cyber threats.
The Jaguar Land Rover hack alone is estimated to have cost the UK around £1.9bn, with around 5,000 organisations affected and production halted for five weeks.
Ciaran Martin, former head of the NCSC, described the breach as “by some distance, the single most financially damaging cyber event ever to hit the UK.”
Such incidents have been a wake-up call for boards and public bodies alike, highlighting the need to treat cyber resilience with the same priority as financial stability.
Protecting businesses and supply chains
Businesses are being urged to take urgent steps to protect themselves.
The NCSC has launched a ‘cyber action toolkit’ to help small organisations implement foundational security measures, while the cyber essentials scheme offers free cyber insurance to eligible businesses.
Security services, including MI5 and GCHQ, are working closely with major UK firms, including utilities, energy providers, and telecoms, to help reinforce resilience.
Recent attacks on retailers like Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Harrods demonstrate how criminals are increasingly targeting networked devices and using ransomware to disrupt operations.
BT has reported that business devices are now being scanned more than 4,000 times a day, with professional services and small businesses facing the highest risk.
In response, BT and Crowdstrike have launched AI-powered antivirus tools designed to protect these vulnerable sectors.
Legislative action
The UK government is also stepping up its international engagement.
Just last week, it signed the UN convention against cybercrime in Vietnam, committing to global cooperation on tackling cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
This comes alongside domestic efforts, including the planned ‘cyber security and resilience bill’, which will require regulated companies to report attacks to the NCSC within 24 hours and strengthen supply chain defences.
Kendall also linked cyber resilience to the UK’s broader innovation agenda, including the government’s £55bn investment in research and development.
She noted that collaboration between the public and private sectors is crucial to both economic growth and national security, reinforcing the message that cyber preparedness is now a core priority for government, industry, and citizens alike.
“We want to absolutely make sure we keep our country safe,” Kendall told CityAM, placing cybersecurity as not just a technical issue, but one with profound implications for the UK’s economy, and global competitiveness.