THE UK government has announced a £90m injection into cybersecurity to strengthen the nation’s cyber resilience. According to the National Cyber Security Centre, CYBERUK conference on 22 April 2026 revealed the funding will help provide support to small and medium sized businesses and assist organisations in implementing the Cyber Essentials standard.
Last summer, quarterly certifications surpassed the 10,000 milestone, and Jonathan Ellison, NCSC Director for National Resilience, said uptake in the last financial year was up around 20%.
Dan Jarvis, the UK’s Minister for Security, also called for every major organisation to sign a new Cyber Resilience Pledge to be launched in the summer, with signatories required to make cyber security a board-level responsibility, sign up to the NCSC’s free Early Warning service, and require Essentials certification across supply chains.
Industry commentary cited criticism that the measure may be insufficient to address the scale of the problem, with OPSWAT’s James Neilson noting it is nice on paper and helpful for SMEs but not enough, and Illumio’s Trevor Dearing stressing the need for practical guidance on protecting data and keeping services running during incidents. TrendAI’s Jonathan Lee was quoted urging a move from guidance to incentives to boost resilience.