The Cyber Security Action Plan sets out how the UK Government intends to strengthen cyber resilience across the public sector, moving from fragmented security controls to a coordinated, accountable and resilience-led approach.
Published in January 2026, the plan reflects a clear shift in national thinking. Cyber security is no longer treated as a purely technical problem. It is recognised as a leadership, governance and operational resilience issue that directly affects public trust, service continuity and national stability.
While the plan is focused on government and public sector bodies, its principles are highly relevant to private sector organisations, particularly those supporting critical services or operating within regulated supply chains.
What is The Cyber Security Action Plan
The Cyber Security Action Plan is a government delivery framework, not legislation. It defines how central government and public sector organisations are expected to manage cyber risk, coordinate response, and demonstrate resilience.
The plan is led by a new Government Cyber Unit within Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre.
Its objective is simple but ambitious. To ensure public services are trustworthy and resilient in the face of increasing cyber threats.
Rather than creating new technical standards, the plan focuses on accountability, consistency and execution.
The Five Delivery Areas of The Cyber Security Action Plan
Accountability
The plan places responsibility for cyber risk firmly at senior leadership level. Leaders are expected to understand, own and actively manage cyber risk in the same way they manage financial or operational risk.
This includes clear ownership at board level, visibility of cyber posture, and assurance that third-party suppliers and partners meet appropriate security standards.
Cyber risk is treated as an organisational risk, not an IT issue.
Support
Central government will provide structured support to public sector organisations, including shared services, guidance and coordinated investment.
This support model is designed to reduce duplication, raise baseline standards and allow organisations to benefit from collective learning rather than operating in isolation.
It also recognises that many organisations do not have the internal capacity or specialist skills to manage cyber risk alone.
Services
The plan promotes the development of scalable, shared cyber services that can be consumed across government and the wider public sector.
Rather than each organisation building bespoke solutions, services are designed to be repeatable, accessible and effective at scale, while still allowing for local context and risk.
This reflects a move away from fragmented tooling towards integrated capability.
Response and Recovery
A core pillar of the Cyber Security Action Plan is the recognition that incidents are inevitable. What matters is how quickly and effectively organisations can detect, respond and recover.
The plan strengthens cross-government coordination for incident response, improves visibility of systemic risks, and emphasises recovery and continuity as critical outcomes, not optional extras.
Resilience is defined by the ability to keep services running and recover safely, not just by preventing attacks.
Skills
Finally, the plan addresses the skills gap. Cyber resilience depends on people as much as technology.
This includes developing cyber leadership capability, improving security awareness across the workforce, and building communities of practice so organisations can share experience and lessons learned.
Culture and behaviour are treated as essential components of resilience.
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How The Cyber Security Action Plan Relates to the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
The Cyber Security Action Plan sits alongside the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, but they serve different purposes.
The Action Plan is a policy and delivery framework. It defines how government and the public sector should operate today.
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is proposed legislation that will introduce statutory duties for organisations operating in essential and digital services sectors. It expands and strengthens the existing regulatory framework under the Network and Information Systems Regulations.
In simple terms:
The Action Plan sets expectations and operating models.
The Bill creates legal obligations and enforcement.
Together, they form a joined-up approach to national cyber resilience.
Why The Cyber Security Action Plan Matters Beyond Government
Although the plan is aimed at the public sector, its impact extends much further.
Organisations that supply, support or integrate with public services will increasingly be expected to demonstrate credible cyber resilience. This includes managed service providers, cloud providers, software vendors and critical suppliers.
The themes of accountability, assurance, response readiness and supply chain risk are already influencing procurement, insurance and regulatory expectations across the private sector.
For many organisations, aligning with the principles of the Cyber Security Action Plan is not about compliance. It is about trust.
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From Cyber Security to Cyber Resilience
The most important message of the Cyber Security Action Plan is the shift from protection alone to resilience.
Resilience means understanding risk, preparing for disruption, responding effectively and recovering with confidence.
At Amicis Group, we see this shift reflected daily. Boards want assurance. Regulators want evidence. Insurers want clarity. And organisations need practical support to make this real.
The Cyber Security Action Plan reinforces a simple truth. Cyber resilience is not achieved through tools alone. It is built through leadership, process, and trusted partners working together.
