UK warns business leaders as 'highly significant' cyber incidents rise 50%

By James Pearson LONDON (Reuters) -British cyber incidents classed as "highly significant" have risen by 50% over a year ago, the head of the country's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will say on Tuesday.    A series of cyber attacks in recent months has knocked some of Britain's biggest brands, including Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), offline.    "Every leader, whether you're one person at your kitchen table  or the boss of thousands of people,  you must have a plan to defend against criminal cyberattacks," NCSC CEO Richard Horne is due to say at the launch of its annual review in London.    The NCSC, part of Britain's GCHQ spy agency, was asked to help with 429 cyber incidents in the 12 months to August, half of which were considered of "national significance".    Of those, Horne said, 18 were classed as "highly significant" because they had "serious impact on central government, UK essential services, a large proportion of the UK population, or the UK economy".    Ministers have written to companies, including the largest 350 on the FTSE Index, urging them to understand what support is available and to make cyber resilience a board-level responsibility, Britain's Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Press said in a statement.    The NCSC said it had dealt with 204 attacks in the three most serious categories in the year to August 2025, more than doubling from 89 the year before.    That has cast a light on the resilience of companies and particularly the smaller businesses in their supply chains, which may be more vulnerable to suddenly losing orders, and payments, if their clients are unable to operate.           JLR, which analysts estimated was losing around 50 million pounds per week from the shutdown, last week restarted some manufacturing after an almost six-week pause.     The luxury carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors, was given a 1.5 billion pound loan guarantee by the British government in late September to help it support suppliers.    "If your IT infrastructure was crippled tomorrow  and all your screens went blank,  could you run your payroll systems, keep your machinery working, or stock your shelves? ," Horne said in his speech.    "If the answer is no, or more likely ‘don’t know’, act now".  (Reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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