The UK government has launched a new Government Cyber Unit as the centrepiece of a £210 million Government Cyber Action Plan aimed at dramatically strengthening cyber defences across public services and government departments. The Cyber Unit will act as a central coordinating body within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), backed by expert leadership and clear accountability structures to drive consistent security outcomes across government organisations. GOV.UK
Rather than leaving cyber risk management to individual departments, the Government Cyber Unit will set strategic priorities, allocate funding, define minimum standards, and provide hands‑on support and targeted services to help departments manage threats, share intelligence, and respond rapidly when incidents occur. It will also establish refreshed governance and risk reporting frameworks, centralise visibility into cyber risk across government, and launch a Government Cyber Incident Response Plan to coordinate action in fast‑moving situations. GOV.UK
Phased implementation through to 2029 will see the unit build out critical capabilities, scale technical support services, improve data‑driven decision‑making, and embed a Government Cyber Profession to grow skills and expertise across departments. A priority is also raising cyber awareness and training beyond technical teams, ensuring all staff understand risk and best‑practice behaviours. GOV.UK
While the Cyber Unit’s primary focus is public sector resilience, this initiative underlines a broader reality: cyber threats don’t stop at the government perimeter. Ransomware, phishing and other attacks target organisations of all sizes, and many businesses already face costly incidents running into tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.
For the private sector, it’s no longer enough to hope you won’t be targeted — organisations must demonstrate they are taking reasonable, proportionate steps to secure their systems and data.
That’s where Cyber Essentials and IASME Cyber Assurance come in. These UK‑government‑aligned schemes provide a clear, practical framework that helps businesses implement essential technical controls, manage risk, and show evidence of doing so to customers, partners, and regulators. By achieving certification, an organisation can prove it has met defined security requirements, reducing susceptibility to common attacks and helping to satisfy contractual or procurement expectations.
Investment in the Government Cyber Unit highlights how seriously the UK now treats cyber risk.
At the same time, Cyber Essentials and Cyber Assurance offer a way for every business — large or small — to demonstrate they are doing their part, strengthening resilience and providing trusted assurance that reasonable steps are being taken to secure their operations.
