Executive summary
A cyber incident isn’t just IT’s problem. It’s the moment a threat becomes real for your whole organisation.
The effects of an incident don’t just impact the platform stability – they ricochet across your business. It can freeze services, disrupt customers, expose regulated data, trigger reporting obligations and audits, and test board confidence. That’s ignoring the costs – from lost sales, fines, and the time and effort required to fix the problem.
Yet, many organisations are still approaching cyber security as a technical function, rather than a business resilience issue – a misconception that is becoming harder to defend.
Ransomware, supply chain risk, AI-enabled threats and growing dependence on digital systems have changed the role cyber security plays in organisational resilience. In 2025-26, 43% of UK businesses and 28% of charities reported a cyber breach or attack, with medium (65%) and large (69%) businesses most exposed.
Thankfully, we’re seeing a structural shift in the UK’s national resilience agenda. The evolving Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is taking the country forward at a pace unseen since the establishment of the National Cybersecurity Centre. The topic was highlighted in the King’s Speech. And we’re receiving crystal-clear warnings from GCHQ that the UK is entering a cyber “moment of consequence” – recognition that data, AI, supply chains and trusted partnerships are now central to security and resilience.
The direction of policy and regulation is placing greater emphasis on essential digital services, supply-chain assurance, incident reporting and demonstrable security maturity. For organisations that rely on managed service providers or complex technology partners, this means resilience cannot be treated as an internal security function alone. It must be embedded across governance, supplier relationships, service delivery, reporting and recovery planning.
For organisations, the practical response is not more abstract awareness, but the ability to identify critical services, embed controls, clarify dependencies and prepare to recover. Every leadership team needs to think about how the business continues to operate and protects its operations when a breach occurs.
We need to go beyond prevention to preparation. Today, cyber security can’t be future-proofed. Technology evolves too quickly, threat actors adapt constantly, and AI is accelerating the pace of change even further. Chasing every new threat is impossible.
Instead, organisations need strong foundations that allow them to adapt. To build these, cyber security must live in the boardroom. 68% of large businesses have board-level responsibility for cyber security but accountability alone doesn't equal resilience. The challenge is translating responsibility into action.
Today, cyber security can’t be future-proofed.
Of large businesses have board-level cyber responsibility
Rank it as a top concern – unchanged since 2021
This is the stage at which many regulated and service-critical organisations stumble. A 2026 Corporate Governance Institute survey of 500 board directors and C suite leaders found 30% of boards rank cyber security as a top risk concern, but this figure has remained practically unchanged for half a decade. What’s more, Fortinet statistics show only 49% of leaders believe their boards are fully aware of the risks faced. So, how can pressure be translated into a feasible operating model?
Many organisations still start with tools, frameworks or the headlines before they understand what the business most needs to protect. We have the answer. Services, customer commitments, key people, data flows, operational dependencies and suppliers - an integrated security approach can keep what matters safe, even if an attack occurs.