Cyber-threats are escalating beyond the collective ability to defend against them, new UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) head Dr Richard Horne has warned.
In his first international speech at Singapore International Cyber Week, Horne said that increased dependence on technology is widening the gap between the escalating threats to societies, critical services, and businesses, and the ability to defend and be resilient against these threats.
He revealed that in 2024 the NCSC has already responded to 50% more nationally significant incidents compared to last year, as well as a threefold increase in severe incidents.
This growing threat has been exacerbated by the lower barrier to entry to commit cyber-attacks, with capabilities rapidly expanding beyond nation-states and well-resourced actors as a result of the cybercrime-as-a-service marketplace.
“The threat landscape is growing more complex, with significant incidents on the rise. To close this gap, we need coordinated global efforts to strengthen cyber resilience, ensure security is built into technology from the outset, and prepare both the public and private sectors to not only defend but also recover swiftly from destructive cyber-attacks,” commented Horne.
Read now: Synnovis Restores Systems After Cyber-Attack, But Blood Shortages Remain
Horne was announced as the new NCSC CEO in April 2024 after Lindy Cameron stood down. He formally took over the post from interim CEO, Felicity Oswald, in October.
Collective Effort Required to Build Resilience
Horne emphasized that global collaboration is essential for combatting the surging threat landscape.
He pointed to the Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) guidelines on avoiding making ransomware payments earlier in October as an example of this type of collaboration. The guidelines were endorsed by 39 nations and eight international insurance bodies.
Governments must also work closely with digital product manufacturers and developers to build sustainable cyber resilience, ensuring secure-by-design principles are adopted.
"Today’s innovation is tomorrow’s legacy. The innovative technologies we are building today will become the legacy technologies of tomorrow. We must adopt a lifecycle management approach to ensure they remain secure and resilient in the future,” said Horne.