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Richard Horne’s speech

Richard Horne’s speech focused on the importance of vigilance as the UK navigates what he described as a ‘perfect storm’ driven by technological transformation over the coming decade.

Richard highlighted five key areas:

• The unknowns around the AI-powered world. He referenced the newly published international standard for AI security as a global benchmark for adoption.
• Guidance from the NCSC to support businesses in migrating to post-quantum cryptography, which should be considered a critical first step in preparing for future threats.
• Rising geopolitical tensions, which are creating increasing challenges for both businesses and governments, with operations now taking place in what Head of MI6, Blaise Metreweli described as a ‘space between peace and war’.
• The continued significance of the threat landscape, with four nationally significant incidents occurring each week. While ransomware from criminal groups remains prevalent, incidents involving nation-state actors are increasing.
• The role of the cyberspace as an integral domain in modern conflict. Defending against large-scale hacktivist activity requires organisations to embed cyber security into their operational resilience frameworks.

Richard closed with an appeal for businesses to be part of the cultural shift that’s needed from a community perspective but also crucially at a Board level.

Minister Jarvis’ speech and government announcements

Minister Jarvis’ speech echoed a number of these challenges and outlined the role of government in responding to cyber threats: to establish standards, share intelligence and provide support and guidance. He emphasised that businesses must, at a minimum, implement basic cyber security measures. The Minister also referenced the open letter sent last week, co-signed with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, urging business leaders to take AI-driven cyber threats seriously.

To support this, Jarvis made a series of announcements.

Cyber Resilience Pledge

The Cyber Resilience Pledge will recognise businesses that have taken the steps to demonstrate a clear commitment to cyber security to their investors, customers and supply chain by:

• Making cyber security a board-level responsibility by implementing the Cyber Governance Code of Practice and ensuring board members complete NCSC Cyber Governance Training.
• Signing up to the NCSC's Early Warning service within one month of signing the pledge.
• Requiring government-backed Cyber Essentials certification across supply chains.

Companies that sign-up to the Pledge will be listed publicly and highlighted as best practice exemplars.

£90 million to strengthen cyber resilience

Government will invest £90million to strengthen cyber resilience with targeted support for small to medium-sized businesses.

Call for partnership with frontier AI companies

Minister Jarvis confirmed that government will respond to the evolving threat landscape by developing AI-powered cyber defence capabilities on a national scale. He called on frontier AI companies to work directly with government to co-develop capabilities for national cyber defence.

Further detail on the government’s formal agenda in this area is expected in due course.

National Cyber Action Plan expected this summer.

Although initially expected during CYBERUK, Minister Jarvis confirmed that the National Cyber Action Plan will now be published this summer. The Plan will outline the government’s vision for action across both the public and private sectors, focusing on three core pillars: the evolving threat landscape, strengthening resilience and driving economic growth.

You can read Dan Jarvis’ speech in full here and Richard Horne’s speech in full here.