What The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill Means for UK Organisations and Their Supply Chains

Short answer: The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will raise cyber resilience expectations across the UK, expand who is regulated, and increase pressure on suppliers to prove they can prevent, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents. Many organisations will be affected directly, and many more indirectly through public sector and critical service supply chains.

The UK Government’s proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill represents a shift in how cyber risk is expected to be managed, not only by public sector bodies and critical services, but also by the organisations that support them through digital services and supply chains.

While the bill is still progressing through legislation, the direction is clear. Organisations will increasingly be expected to demonstrate that they can prevent cyber incidents, withstand disruption, and recover quickly when things go wrong.

Why The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill Exists

The UK’s digital economy has become more interconnected and more dependent on third-party suppliers. At the same time, cyber attacks have grown in scale, frequency, and impact.

The UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 shows that phishing remains the most common form of cyber attack against UK organisations, with a majority of businesses and charities experiencing attempted breaches in the past year.

High-profile ransomware incidents and supply-chain compromises have demonstrated that cyber attacks no longer affect just one organisation. Disruption can quickly spread across connected services, suppliers, and customers.

In many cases, the issue is not a lack of security tools, but a lack of resilience. Systems are compromised, recovery plans are unclear, and organisations struggle to restore services safely and quickly.

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is intended to close this gap.

What Is The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill?

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is designed to modernise the UK’s approach to cyber risk by building on existing frameworks such as the Network and Information Systems Regulations.

Proposals published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology outline plans to expand the scope of regulation, strengthen incident reporting, and place greater emphasis on resilience and recovery rather than prevention alone.

In practical terms, the bill is expected to:

• Bring more organisations into scope, including those supporting essential services

• Strengthen accountability for cyber risk at leadership level

• Tighten cyber incident reporting requirements

• Increase focus on recovery, continuity, and resilience

• Extend expectations across supply chains, not just primary organisations

This reflects a broader shift in how cyber risk is viewed, from a purely technical issue to a fundamental business risk.

Who Will Be Affected?

Public Sector and Critical Services

Public sector organisations and operators of essential services are likely to be directly affected. This includes healthcare, education, transport, utilities, and local government.

The National Cyber Security Centre has highlighted ransomware as a growing threat to public services, particularly where disruption impacts citizens and critical operations.

Supply Chains and Service Providers

One of the most significant aspects of the bill is its focus on supply-chain risk.

Even if your organisation is not directly regulated, you may still be affected if you provide IT services, host data, manage systems, or support organisations that fall within scope.

The National Cyber Security Centre has warned that attackers increasingly target suppliers as an indirect route into larger or more secure organisations.

As a result, customers may begin asking more detailed questions about your cyber resilience, recovery planning, and incident-response capabilities.

What Does Cyber Resilience Mean In Practice?

Cyber resilience goes beyond preventing attacks.

It refers to an organisation’s ability to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and continue operating during a cyber incident.

The National Cyber Security Centre defines cyber resilience as a combination of effective detection, tested recovery processes, and clear ownership of incident response.

An organisation can have strong security controls and still be vulnerable if it lacks:

• Documented and tested incident-response plans

• Reliable, regularly tested backups

• Clear accountability for cyber risk

• Visibility across systems and suppliers

The bill places greater emphasis on these operational realities rather than technical controls alone.

Areas Likely To Face Greater Scrutiny

Governance and Leadership Accountability

Cyber risk is increasingly recognised as a board-level responsibility. The NCSC Board Toolkit makes it clear that senior leaders should actively understand and oversee cyber risk, not simply delegate it to IT teams.

Incident Reporting

The bill is expected to strengthen requirements around reporting cyber incidents, including clearer thresholds and tighter timelines.

Supply Chain Assurance

Organisations may need to demonstrate that they assess and manage the cyber resilience of key suppliers, particularly where disruption could affect service delivery.

Recovery and Business Continuity

Backups alone are no longer enough. Organisations may be expected to prove that recovery processes are tested, realistic, and capable of restoring services within acceptable timeframes.

Practical Steps Organisations Can Take Now

Organisations do not need to wait for the bill to become law to improve cyber resilience.

The NCSC Cyber Aware guidance outlines practical steps organisations can take, including:

• Reviewing and documenting incident-response plans

• Regularly testing backups and recovery processes

• Identifying critical suppliers and understanding supply-chain risk

• Improving monitoring and detection capabilities

• Raising cyber awareness beyond IT teams

Further Reading

• How UK Businesses Can Strengthen Their Cybersecurity

• Cybersecurity in 2026 | Why Employees Are Still Your Biggest Cyber Risk

• Cybersecurity in 2026 | Why Out-of-Hours Attacks Are the #1 Growing Threat

How The HBP Group Can Help

The HBP Group helps organisations assess cyber risk, strengthen resilience, and improve recovery planning through a combination of people, processes, and technology.

If you want to understand how the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill may affect your organisation or your supply chain, we are happy to talk it through and help you identify practical next steps.