NCSC Annual Review 2021

The real-world impact of these attacks in the UK and around the world was stark: food supplies were affected, local fuel prices increased, citizens were denied access to public services, at-risk children’s details were lost and the costs to businesses and public funds ran into hundreds of millions of pounds.

In July the Irish Health Service Executive announced the recovery costs from its attack in May would be $600m (£442m), while Hackney Borough Council estimated in February it would cost £10m to recover from a cyber breach in 2020.

As part of the wider intelligence community, the NCSC has a role in identifying threat actors, and attributing – in partnership with the government – their malign activity. Attribution continued to be an important part of cyber deterrence, with perpetrators identified and their actions exposed.

Due to the interconnected nature of cyberspace most major attacks carried out overseas caused an impact in the UK. The NCSC supported those organisations affected with guidance and tools to help prevent compromise or to recover systems and services.

While high-profile ransomware attacks attracted public attention, it was not just global corporations or Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) affected by the cyber threat this year. According to the DCMS Cyber Security Breaches Survey published in March, 39% of all UK businesses that’s 2.3m - reported a cyber breach or attack in 2020/21, compounding an already difficult year for many SMEs.