Strong cyber foundations at Resilience & Cyber4Good 2026

The Police Digital Service (PDS) joined public sector cyber leaders at Resilience & Cyber4Good 2026, hosted by UKAuthority, where National Chief Information Security Officer Chris Cope shared his perspective on building cyber resilience in an increasingly digital world. 

The three-day event brought together cyber, digital and technology professionals from across government and public services to explore how organisations can defend, recover and maintain critical services in an AI-enabled threat environment. Discussions focused on resilience, operational recovery, emerging threats and the future impact of technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.  

Speaking on the event’s opening day, Chris reflected on how dramatically organisations have changed over the last 25 years. As public services become increasingly dependent on digital technology, he warned that many cyber incidents still stem from familiar challenges rather than sophisticated new attacks. 

“While technology continues to evolve at pace, many organisations are still facing issues around governance, legacy infrastructure, asset visibility and basic security controls,” he said. 

A key theme of the session was the tendency for organisations to become distracted by new technology or react to high-profile cyber incidents, rather than focusing on the fundamentals that underpin long-term resilience. 

Chris highlighted the importance of understanding what systems and data matter most, ensuring security investments align with business priorities, and avoiding the assumption that technology alone can solve cyber challenges. 

He also emphasised that cyber security should be viewed as a business challenge rather than solely an IT responsibility. Effective resilience depends on leadership, clear accountability and a culture where security is embedded across the organisation. 

“Security professionals must work alongside the business to help manage risk and enable informed decision-making,” he explained. “Cyber resilience requires shared ownership across the organisation.” 

The session also explored the importance of proactive risk management. Rather than continually deferring known risks or responding only when incidents occur, organisations should take a long-term approach to investment, workforce capability and planning. 

Throughout the presentation, Chris returned to the importance of governance as the foundation of effective cyber security. From leadership commitment and risk ownership to assurance, standards and funding, strong governance enables organisations to adopt new technology confidently while maintaining resilience. 

The wider conference examined how public sector organisations can strengthen their ability to prevent, withstand and recover from cyber incidents while continuing to deliver essential services. Topics included AI-enabled threats, ransomware resilience, operational recovery and preparation for a post-quantum future.  

Closing the session, Chris reinforced a simple message: “While technology continues to change, the principles of good cyber security remain largely the same. 

“For organisations looking to embrace new technologies and digital transformation, strong governance, effective risk management and a clear understanding of critical assets remain the foundations of long-term resilience.”