NCSC-UK urges organisations to act following the Middle East conflict

The UK National Cyber Security Centre has issued an alert advising British organisations to take action following the recent conflict in the Middle East. NCSC assesses that there is likely no significant change in the direct cyber threat from Iran towards the UK, while stressing that the situation is developing quickly and the assessment may change. At the same time it judges the risk of indirect cyber threats to be clearly heightened for organisations and entities with a presence in the Middle East. The assessment aligns with the Norwegian Police Security Service's expectation of intelligence and influence operations from Iranian services in 2026.

What this means for your organisation

Norwegian organisations with offices, projects, staff or suppliers in the region can be affected without being the intended target. That includes those who merely supply into a value chain connected there. This is not a warning about a specific attack, but a signal that preparedness should be in order now rather than when something actually happens. It matters at board level because geopolitical risk here translates directly into operational stability.

Berigo recommends

• Review which parts of the business and the supply chain are connected to the region, and assess the exposure concretely.
• Test that the incident response plan actually works, with current call lists, roles and fallback communications.
• Verify that backups are separated from the production environment and that restoration has been rehearsed recently.
• Give the board a short, concrete briefing on what this risk means for operations.

Source

• ncsc.gov.uk