ECOSYSTEMS
Opening the Critical National Infrastructure Umbrella Tony Long, Industry CTO – Resources, Services & TMT at Atos UK&I, suggests that the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure sectors, though highly specialised, would benefit from a unified ‘umbrella’ approach to security, collaboration and innovation, and explains how this can be achieved.
The UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) spans 13 distinct sectors, from energy and utilities, to transport, healthcare and public broadcasting. Each has its own unique challenges, regulatory frameworks and operational demands. Yet, despite these differences, there’s a growing recognition that adopting a unified ‘umbrella’ approach to securing, monitoring and managing critical national infrastructure could benefit all by improving resilience, establishing a secure baseline, fostering collaboration and driving innovation across the board. But how? If each sector is so specialised, can a single framework really work? The answer lies in identifying shared challenges, sharing learning across sectors, and delivering scalable solutions that tackle those shared challenges. In reality, CNI sectors are interconnected and interdependent. A hospital can’t function without electricity. A logistics network depends on roads and telecommunications networks. A national broadcaster relies on energy and digital infrastructure. This interdependency means that a failure or compromise in one sector can cascade into others, something we’ve seen play out in real time. Take the impact of Storm Arwen in November 2021, when major power outages left some without access to their digital land lines, and no
way of contacting emergency services. In 2021, railway drainage problems caused by blockages in the waste water network almost caused the National Blood Bank to flood. A single umbrella approach wouldn’t erase sector-specific needs, but it would create a framework for shared resilience, allowing for standardised security baselines aligned with frameworks like the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework, while still accommodating sector-specific regulations. It would enable cross-sector threat intelligence, so an attack on a utility company could trigger pre-emptive defences in transport or healthcare, supporting proactive risk modelling and identifying choke points before they cause systemic failures. Breaking down the silos Whilst interdependencies exist, there continues to be little cross- sector collaboration right now. CNI leaders rarely meet to discuss shared challenges or potential solutions. That needs to change. Industry can pioneer mechanisms to foster collaboration, such as CNI roundtables that bring together CTOs and senior leaders from utilities, energy and transport to tackle common issues like IT and OT convergence and exposure to cybersecurity threats. These cross-industry discussions have
Tony Long Industry CTO – Resources, Services & TMT, UK&I
atos.net
When driving shared
innovation across CNI, it’s clear not all sectors innovate at the same pace.
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