NCSC Annual Review 2023
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Director GCHQ
Since my appointment as Director GCHQ earlier this year I have been hugely impressed by the efforts of our cyber security experts at the NCSC.
The sheer breadth of our work is neatly captured in this review’s timeline of activities over the past 12 months. Joining international partners in calling out the activities of malicious actors, producing timely guidance to help organisations stay secure and delivering an outstanding CYBERUK conference in Belfast are just a few of the ways the NCSC has been working to keep us all secure online.
The context in which the NCSC operates continues to be challenging. Cyber security remains a priority as part of GCHQ’s overall support to Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal invasion, as does the NCSC’s response to new and emerging threats, including that to critical national infrastructure (CNI) from state-aligned actors.
The recent acceleration of progress – and media attention in – the field of artificial intelligence (AI) cannot have escaped anyone’s attention, and this of course has major cyber security implications. AI has the potential to improve cyber security by dramatically increasing the timeliness and accuracy of threat detection and response, and while AI offers fantastic opportunities, all sectors need to be clear-eyed about the related cyber security risks. The NCSC has been championing the case for taking a ‘secure by design’ approach to AI, by building cyber security into technology solutions from the outset. Another vital consideration is to ensure diversity and ethics are built into every stage of AI’s development. Potential limitations and biases are cleverly demonstrated by the NCSC’s use of AI to create images for this review.
We can trace the roots of AI to GCHQ’s beginnings in Bletchley Park, where the government’s 2023 AI Safety Summit took place. In Bletchley, as in GCHQ today, our brilliant people, technology and tradecraft have always invented and mastered new technology to make sense of data and protect the UK from harm .
In an unpredictable world where technology evolves at ever greater speed, the NCSC has always adapted to the opportunities and challenges. I have no doubt that with our range of technical expertise and collaborative spirit the organisation will continue to do so.