The Government is preparing a major assessment of physical and personnel security across the UK’s telecommunications sector as part of efforts to strengthen the resilience of critical national infrastructure (CNI) against hostile threats.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has launched a preliminary market engagement exercise seeking specialist security consultancies to help identify vulnerabilities across public telecoms networks and services. The work is expected to begin in October 2026 and conclude early next year, subject to a formal procurement process.
The proposed assessment will examine physical security weaknesses, insider risks and potential attack vectors affecting exchanges, data centres, transmission sites and access network assets. It will also develop a prioritised set of mitigation measures, including recommendations on how existing National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) guidance can be applied to reduce security risks across the sector.
According to DSIT, telecommunications networks underpin every other critical national infrastructure sector, making their availability, integrity and confidentiality essential to national security, economic resilience and the delivery of public services. The department notes that geographically distributed telecoms assets are increasingly attractive targets for hostile state and state-aligned actors seeking to disrupt or exploit UK infrastructure.
Tthe initiative highlights the growing importance of integrating traditional site protection with personnel security and insider threat management. Rather than focusing solely on perimeter security, the assessment will consider how physical vulnerabilities and trusted insider access could be exploited to compromise essential services.
DSIT is also seeking industry feedback on practical issues including security clearances, access requirements, evidence-gathering across multiple operators and the methodologies best suited to assessing complex telecoms environments. The department says responses will help shape a future procurement strategy and ensure the assessment reflects current market capability and best practice.
The exercise reflects an increasing government focus on strengthening the physical resilience of the UK’s critical infrastructure as cyber, physical and insider threats continue to converge, placing greater emphasis on holistic security strategies that address people, processes and facilities alongside technology.
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