The NCSC's CEO says:
In this year’s Annual Review , we reflect on key developments, achievements and trends from the last year. We’ve also included five case studies on areas of specific interest to the cyber security community – setting out the NCSC’s thinking on AI cyber security, on securing the UK’s critical national infrastructure, on defending our democratic processes, the future of UK cyber security services (including the NCSC’s role in their provision) and reflecting back on what we have learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It says that they will focus their work on three priorities over the coming year:
1. Improve the UK's cyber resilience to the most signifcant cyber risks.
2. Retain their edge - as technology is developing faster than ever they must ensure the UK retains its edge in the face of future cyber seucrity challenges, including those emanating from China.
3. The NCSC will only be successful in its mission if they are the strongest organisation they can be.
This year has seen the emergence of state-aligned actors as a new and emerging cyber threat to critical national infrastructure, the continuation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the concerns about the potential risks of AI.
Ransomware is still one of the main cyber threats facing the UK and all domestic organisations should take actions to protect themselves. The now-normal approach of stealing and encrupting data continues to be the main tactic used by cyber criminals. However, data extortion attacks, in which data is stolen but not encrypted are a growing trend.
The full report can be read: NCSC Annual Review 2023
What to do in the event of a Cyber Attack
Tell someone! Report to IT. Report to SLT.Unplug the computer from the internet by removing the ethernet cable or turning the Wi-Fi off. Isolate the infected device and pass to IT
If you are a victim of a ransomware attack we would recommend reporting this to:
Action Fraud: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ as well as your data protection officer so they can advise about the data loss or your local police and ask for the cyber crime team or phone 101 and ask for the cyber crime team.
Most cyber crimes like these will also need to be reported to the ICO by your data protection officer. Our customers should email
These incidents should also be reported to the DfE sector cyber team at
Academy trusts have to report these attacks to ESFA.
Where the incident causes long term school closure, the closure of more than 1 school or serious financial damage, you should also inform the National Cyber Security Centre.
Always ensure there are backups you can restore from. Preserving evidence is as important as recovering from the crime.
Forward suspicious emails to