The UK's Cyber Security and Resilience Bill: Protecting Our Digital Future – But Is It Enough?

Written By Noel Bradford

The UK is pushing forward with a major overhaul of its cyber laws. The new Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is designed to drag our digital defences into the modern world — with some serious teeth. Among its headline proposals? Fines of up to £100,000 per day for organisations that fail to report serious cyber incidents.

It sounds dramatic. It needs to be. Our economy, health services, utilities, and everyday lives depend more and more on systems that have been largely self-policed. But does this bill go far enough? Or are we only patching the cracks when we need to rebuild the entire wall?

Let’s take a closer look.

What the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill Promises

The bill, first announced through the King's Speech and official government releases, is centred on three core changes:

  • More organisations will be regulated: For the first time, critical suppliers like managed service providers (MSPs) and major data centres will be subject to mandatory cyber security rules.

  • Fines will get serious: Failure to comply with security directions could mean fines of up to 10% of turnover or £100,000 per day, whichever is higher.

  • Regulators can move faster: Ministers can make future changes to cyber standards without waiting for new Acts of Parliament.

In practical terms, this means many companies that previously dodged regulation are now in the crosshairs. Critical suppliers—those companies behind the companies you rely on are about to have the spotlight shoved right into their server rooms.

The government also wants companies to report cyber incidents quickly, within 24 hours. Not three days, not when you feel like it, not one day. Can your business spot, confirm, and report an incident in that time?

The idea is to build an early warning system for the nation. If your systems are under attack, the government must know before it turns into another SolarWinds or WannaCry.

But here’s the catch: What counts as a "material incident"? Will companies overreport to stay safe? Or will some still try to bury the breach and pray it does not come out? These are tough questions, with no easy answers.

How Did We Get Here? A Quick History of UK Cyber Laws

Britain’s first big attempt at cyber regulation came with the NIS Regulations 2018. Inspired by the EU's first NIS Directive, it forced "operators of essential services" — water companies, energy suppliers, the NHS — to take security seriously and report major incidents. Fines could reach £17 million.

At the same time, GDPR landed with a thud, making reporting data breaches involving personal information mandatory within 72 hours, with fines up to 4% of global turnover.

But the truth? Enforcement has been soft. NIS fines have been practically non-existent. GDPR fines have made more headlines but have often been whittled down on appeal. Meanwhile, cyberattacks have escalated from occasional nuisance to daily reality.

The Telecoms Security Act 2021 took a firmer stance, forcing providers to upgrade their security and imposing stiff penalties for failure. It worked. Now, the government wants to apply that same rigour across other sectors.

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is the next logical step. It would establish stronger rules, faster updates, and real punishment for companies that treat cybersecurity like an optional extra. But will it finally close the loopholes that past laws left wide open?

How Does the UK's Bill Compare Internationally?

The UK is not alone. Around the world, governments are realising that voluntary cybersecurity is no longer sufficient.

In Europe, the NIS2 Directive massively expands the sectors that must meet strict cyber standards, from telecoms and finance to waste management and food production. It also tightens incident reporting to a 24-hour initial deadline and beefs up potential fines.

In the US, the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act (CIRCIA) will soon require designated industries to report major incidents within 72 hours to CISA, the federal cyber agency. Ransomware payments will need to be reported even faster.

The UK’s bill is actually harsher on penalties than NIS2's. While NIS2 caps fines at 2% of global turnover, Britain’s proposed maximum is 10%.

Will that higher threat make UK organisations more careful? Or will it drive fear and defensiveness, leading to a tick-box compliance culture rather than real resilience?

Global companies operating in multiple countries may need to juggle different reporting rules, deadlines, and penalty structures. Will that complexity help or hinder international cyber cooperation?

Where Does Cyber Essentials Fit In?

Cyber Essentials is the UK government’s basic cybersecurity scheme. Introduced in 2014, it sets out five fundamental controls, from proper firewalls to patching vulnerabilities.

It’s currently voluntary unless you want to bid for specific government contracts. But could or even should that change?

With the new bill making "appropriate and proportionate security measures" a legal obligation, Cyber Essentials could become an unofficial minimum standard for businesses, especially in supply chains.

Achieving Cyber Essentials certification could be a relatively easy way for SMB to prove they take security seriously. With its independent auditing, Cyber Essentials Plus might soon become the entry ticket to supply chains dealing with anything remotely critical.

Is it time for Cyber Essentials to become mandatory for all suppliers to critical services? Shouldn't every company providing IT services, software, or hosting be expected to meet at least this baseline?

One thing is clear: as supply chain attacks grow, customers will want more than your word that you are secure.

Supply Chain Risk – The Silent Killer

If there’s one lesson from the past five years of cyber incidents, it’s this: attackers love the supply chain. Why break into one bank when you can hack the IT provider serving twenty banks?

This bill recognises that danger. It will let the government designate certain suppliers as "critical", forcing them to follow strict cybersecurity rules even if they are small, third-party firms.

Think Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Cloud hosting companies. Software vendors.

Some have even suggested that MSPs should be formally recognised as part of the UK's critical infrastructure. After all, if a national MSP gets taken down, the ripple effects could hit hospitals, councils, and emergency services.

Shouldn’t that level of systemic risk come with greater scrutiny? And if so, how do we balance it so that smaller but vital providers aren’t crushed under the weight of compliance bureaucracy?

It’s a delicate dance: raise standards without choking innovation. But make no mistake, supply chain security is now everyone's business.

Is It Enough?

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is a strong step in the right direction. It signals clearly that the days of cyber security being treated like a "nice to have" are over.

But it’s not perfect.

The public sector, riddled with ageing IT and creaking legacy systems, is largely left out of the bill’s reach. Shouldn’t government services be held to the same standards as private operators?

Enforcement is another question. It’s easy to write laws, but it’s harder to consistently apply them. Will regulators have the resources, expertise, and political will to use these massive new powers?

And what about the small businesses caught in the crossfire? Will they get enough guidance, support, and time to adapt before the fines land?

Finally, culture change cannot be legislated. True cyber resilience is not just about paperwork. It’s about embedding good security into every part of a business, from the boardroom to the front desk.

Can the UK create that shift? Or will we still see companies doing the bare minimum to pass audits without improving their security posture?

The stakes could not be higher. The UK's critical infrastructure, economy, and public trust depend on getting this right.

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is a significant step forward. But it must be followed by tough, consistent enforcement, and a genuine commitment to supporting businesses, large and small, through the transition.

What do you think? Should MSPS be designated as critical infrastructure? Should Cyber Essentials be mandatory? Will these eye-watering new fines drive real change, or just create new headaches?

The cyber threat is not going away. How we respond today will shape the safety and prosperity of tomorrow.

Noel Bradford

Noel Bradford – Head of Technology at Equate Group, Professional Bullshit Detector, and Full-Time IT Cynic

As Head of Technology at Equate Group, my job description is technically “keeping the lights on,” but in reality, it’s more like “stopping people from setting their own house on fire.” With over 40 years in tech, I’ve seen every IT horror story imaginable—most of them self-inflicted by people who think cybersecurity is just installing antivirus and praying to Saint Norton.

I specialise in cybersecurity for UK businesses, which usually means explaining the difference between ‘MFA’ and ‘WTF’ to directors who still write their passwords on Post-it notes. On Tuesdays, I also help further education colleges navigate Cyber Essentials certification, a process so unnecessarily painful it makes root canal surgery look fun.

My natural habitat? Server rooms held together with zip ties and misplaced optimism, where every cable run is a “temporary fix” from 2012. My mortal enemies? Unmanaged switches, backups that only exist in someone’s imagination, and users who think clicking “Enable Macros” is just fine because it makes the spreadsheet work.

I’m blunt, sarcastic, and genuinely allergic to bullshit. If you want gentle hand-holding and reassuring corporate waffle, you’re in the wrong place. If you want someone who’ll fix your IT, tell you exactly why it broke, and throw in some unsolicited life advice, I’m your man.

Technology isn’t hard. People make it hard. And they make me drink.

https://noelbradford.com
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