NCSC Annual Review 2025

It was created to harness the agility and creativity of startups to develop cutting-edge solutions to the nation’s most pressing cyber security challenges. Over the last eight years, the programme evolved into a beacon for cyber innovation, opening doors to a traditionally closed sector and welcoming university spinouts, first-time founders, and non-traditional players into the fold.

The success of NCSC For Startups is a powerful model for public-private partnership. It proves what’s possible when government and startups join forces to tackle complex challenges with speed, creativity, and purpose. Though the programme has reached its conclusion, its spirit lives on in the partnerships it forged, the innovative technologies it incubated, and a resilient UK cyber ecosystem that continues to flourish.

CounterCraft

Strategic collaboration driving innovation and impact.

Thanks to the support from the NCSC and Plexal, we’ve made significant strides in enhancing our product capabilities. Engaging directly with NCSC experts enabled us to uncover novel methods for detecting threat actor activity and refine our techniques for gathering actionable threat intelligence.

In addition to technical improvements, the programme provided invaluable insights into strategic positioning and messaging. With NCSC’s guidance, we strengthened our approach to engaging with government, particularly in high-impact sectors such as public services and financial institutions.

A key milestone was our collaboration with the US Department of Defense (DoD) through an Other Transaction Agreement facilitated by the Defense Innovation Unit. This initiative successfully prototyped CounterCraft’s deception technology, demonstrating its effectiveness in preventing cyber attacks targeting DoD infrastructure. Following the prototype phase, the project transitioned into full production, substantially improving the DoD’s cyber security posture.

This programme has been a transformative experience for CounterCraft, accelerating our innovation, expanding our global reach, and reinforcing our commitment to securing critical infrastructure. We’re proud to be a member of the NCSC alumni community.

Intruder

A cyber security success story sparked by NCSC for Startups. 

In 2017, Chris Wallis’s cyber security startup, Intruder, was in its early stages when it was selected to join the NCSC for Startups (then Cyber Accelerator) programme. The support provided enabled him to secure funding to hire a Chief Technical Officer and transition the business from a consultancy model to a product-focused company.

The programme also helped solidify Intruder’s mission to protect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a goal closely aligned with the NCSC’s own priorities. Chris noted that “in an industry like cyber security where credibility is everything, being selected by the NCSC helped us attract those crucial early customers and secure our first funding round.”

Since completing the programme in 2018, Intruder has experienced remarkable growth. Based in London, the company now boasts a team of 60 professionals, serves over 3,000 clients globally, and generates annual revenues approaching £10 million. Intruder also remains an engaged and supportive member of the NCSC alumni community, actively contributing to its ongoing success and collaboration.