There have been too many occasions where we’ve seen first-hand the impact that cyber attacks can have on businesses. Supply chains can provide numerous points that attackers look to exploit, but only 14 per cent of firms are on top of the potential risks faced by their immediate suppliers. So says Liz Lloyd, Minister for the Digital Economy at DSIT (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) in a foreword to a Cyber Essentials Supply Chain Playbook. You can read it in full on the UK official NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) website.
To explain briefly, the document sets out how businesses can embed Cyber Essentials in their supply chain, to build cyber resilience. It’s aimed at ‘senior leaders’, asking them to direct their procurement and information security departments to audit their supply chain, and scope whether all of the supply chain, or some supplier security profiles will require Cyber Essentials as a ‘Minimum Security Requirement’.
The document warns: “High-profile, damaging cyber attacks have demonstrated attackers’ intent and ability to exploit security vulnerabilities in supply chains across the UK. Without basic cyber hygiene, suppliers will continue to be vulnerable as threat actors hone their focus on unprotected businesses.”
Comment
Jamie Akhtar, CEO and co-founder of CyberSmart, welcomed the Playbook for moving the conversation ‘from intent to execution’. He said: “Supply-chain cyber risk is not a new problem, but most organisations have struggled to turn concern into something operational. This playbook does that. It gives buyers a clear, repeatable way to raise the baseline across hundreds or thousands of suppliers without reinventing the wheel.
“The most important shift is how Cyber Essentials is being positioned. It is no longer just something you do for your own organisation. The NCSC is clearly signalling that Cyber Essentials should be treated as a minimum assurance layer across supply chains (in line with the recent recommendation to FTSE 350). That matters because it creates a shared language between large organisations and SMEs, rather than bespoke questionnaires and fragmented demands.
“I also think the emphasis on making this a requirement, not a recommendation, is right. If the goal is real risk reduction, optional security standards do not work at scale. The playbook is explicit that consistency and enforcement are what drive outcomes, not good intentions.
“Where this becomes particularly powerful is delivery. Large organisations simply cannot manage supplier cyber risk one supplier at a time. The playbook implicitly recognises this by pointing towards standardisation, tooling and supported pathways for suppliers who need help. That is where the market will move next: from policy and guidance into scalable services that help suppliers get compliant and stay compliant.
“Finally, this fits squarely with the direction of travel we are seeing more broadly. Regulation, procurement expectations and board-level scrutiny are all converging on supply-chain resilience. The playbook is a practical expression of that shift. Organisations that adopt it early will reduce risk faster and with less friction than those that continue to rely on ad-hoc assurance.”
Meanwhile UK Government has published the Government Cyber Action Plan.
