Last week, the UK government released a policy statement on the upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. The statement confirms the Bill’s aim to force a major shift in national cyber strategy, with a particular focus on public sector bodies and supply chain partners.
For MSPs and resellers, the legislation represents a key opportunity to position services as the bedrock of cyber resilience both for public sector clients and across the broader digital economy.
A legal duty to be resilient
One of the most important provisions in the new Bill is the introduction of a statutory cyber resilience duty for public sector organisations. This will require government departments, NHS trusts, and local authorities to meet baseline cyber security standards and actively mitigate vulnerabilities. Failure to comply could result in enforcement proceedings.
This change has been prompted by several recent incidents and trends. In 2023, a cyberattack on a supplier to NHS hospitals in London caused over11,000 outpatient appointments and procedures to be postponed. The 2024 Cyber Breaches Survey reported that 50% of UK businesses and almost 60% of charities experienced a cyberattack or breach in the past 12 months, with public sector bodies also under sustained attack.
Why this matters for MSPs
Public sector organisations are increasingly relying on MSPs to manage infrastructure, software, and support. The Bill recognises this reality, placing MSPs within its regulatory scope for the first time.
With 900–1,100 UK MSPs set to be affected, this is a monumental change. MSPs will now be held accountable for the cyber resilience of the services they provide. To remain competitive, providers will likely need to demonstrate the following:
- Strong backup and recovery practices.
- Transparent security postures.
- Immutable data storage.
- Effective monitoring and malware detection.
Tackling supply chain weaknesses
Another key change is the designation of Critical Suppliers. These are third-party providers whose failure could cause serious disruption to national infrastructure or digital services.
Supply chain attacks have surged in recent years. According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach report, breaches originating in the supply chain cost organisations an average of $4.88 million and take far longer to contain than internal attacks. By bringing critical suppliers under direct regulation, the Bill aims to ensure that security standards are consistently enforced across the ecosystem.
Expanding regulatory power and improving reporting
The government is also strengthening regulators’ ability to gather information, enforce compliance, and respond to emerging threats. A key part of this is updating incident reporting standards. Here’s how this will work in practice:
- All significant incidents must be reported within 24 hours of detection.
- Full incident reports must follow within 72 hours.
- Providers will be required to notify affected customers directly in the event of major outages or compromises.
These changes mirror the EU’s NIS2 directive and reflect growing international expectations around transparency. For MSPs and IT providers, this means maintaining audit-ready records and documentation and ensuring that disaster recovery processes are proven and fast.
The new role of data centres and cloud providers
In recognition of their importance, data centres have been designated as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and will soon be regulated accordingly. This includes facilities over 1MW in capacity or enterprise-owned centres over 10MW.
With data centres underpinning public services, e-commerce, and innovation (including AI development), this move highlights a growing trend: cloud and backup infrastructure are now essential services.
Build cyber resilience with Redstor
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill signals a new era of accountability, transparency, and preparedness in the UK’s digital landscape. Whether you’re serving public sector clients, managing cloud infrastructure, or acting as a trusted IT partner, now is the time to futureproof your cyber strategy.
Redstor’s backup and recovery platform is built with MSPs in mind. Our cloud-native solutions provide ransomware-proof backups and InstantData™ recovery from any cyber event, with geographically redundant storage across secure UK data centres.
The Bill is both a wake-up call and an opportunity for MSPs. Get in touch today to learn how Redstor can help you navigate the new era.