Advisory and Sovereign Cloud Expertise for Critical National Infrastructure
Critical National Infrastructure operators carry a growing statutory and operational burden, securing legacy infrastructure alongside modern cloud environments.
Defended Solutions brings experience in verticals such as Air Traffic Control and Nuclear bringing ISO 27001, 9001 and 20000 certified expertise. Helping CNI operators architect and secure their cloud environments to meet regulatory standards.
The Compliance Reality For Critical National Infrastructure
Critical National Infrastructure sits under some of the most demanding regulatory scrutiny in the UK, from the NIS Regulations to sector-specific oversight bodies like Ofgem and Ofcom. The NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework is increasingly the benchmark regulators assess against, covering how well an organisation manages risk, protects against attack, detects incidents and limits their impact.
For most operators, the harder problem sits underneath the framework. Critical services run on a mix of legacy infrastructure and modern IT, often decades apart in age and built without each other in mind. Patching a control system is not the same as patching a laptop. Securing that estate, and proving to a regulator that it is secure, requires architecture that accounts for both worlds rather than treating OT as an IT problem with a different label.
| THE CHALLENGE | OUR APPROACH | |
|---|---|---|
| Legacy infrastructure often predates modern security practice entirely, running alongside newer cloud and IT systems it was never designed to sit next to. | Defended Solutions architects cloud environments that account for legacy infrastructure, rather than applying standard IT security assumptions to systems that cannot be patched or restarted like a laptop. | |
| Regulators increasingly expect continuous evidence of resilience against frameworks like the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework, not a one-off assessment. | Defended Solutions builds cloud architecture with audit and evidence requirements considered from the outset, so operators are not retrofitting compliance after the fact. | |
| Essential services increasingly depend on third-party suppliers and cloud providers, and a weakness anywhere in that chain becomes the operator's regulatory problem. | Defended Solutions holds direct partner status with AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, giving CNI operators an architecture partner who understands both the supplier landscape and the regulatory expectations placed on it. |
Each of these challenges compounds the others. Legacy infrastructure makes regulatory evidence harder to produce, supplier dependency makes legacy estate harder to secure in isolation. Addressing them individually is not enough, which is why architecture, not point fixes, is where this actually gets solved.
How We Support Critical National Infrastructure Operators
Defended Solutions has delivered cloud and security work directly within CNI and Defence organisations.
That experience sits alongside ISO 27001, 9001 and 20000 certification, G-Cloud 14 listing, and direct partner status with AWS, Azure and Google Cloud.
Independently Certified
Our information security, quality, and service management are certified to ISO 27001, 9001 and 20000.
Procurable Through G-Cloud 14
Defended Solutions is listed on G-Cloud 14 (Lot 1 Cloud Hosting), the UK government's official procurement framework.
Vendor Agnostic
With direct partner status across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, we recommend the platform that fits your requirements, not the one we are tied to.
Proven Experience
Our team has delivered cloud and security work directly within UK CNI environments, including air traffic control and national research infrastructure.
How to Work With Us
Getting started with Defended Solutions follows a clear path, so you know what to expect before committing to anything.
Initial Conversation
A no-obligation conversation to understand your current environment, regulatory position, and what you are trying to achieve.
Assessment
Where needed, we assess your existing cloud and infrastructure setup against the compliance and operational requirements relevant to your sector.
Proposal
A clear, specific proposal covering scope, approach, and timeline, no generic packages, built around what your assessment actually found.
Delivery
Architecture, deployment, or support work begins, with the same team involved from the initial conversation through to delivery.
Most engagements start with a conversation with one of our expert team, who will then assess how we can best support your organisation. If you’re interested in finding out more, please get in touch.
Discover our Insights:
Common Questions From CNI Operators
Cloud and security decisions for Critical National Infrastructure raise questions that do not come up in a standard IT procurement.
Here are some of the most common ones we are asked.
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CNI covers the sectors whose disruption would have a significant impact on essential services, including energy, water, transport, health and digital infrastructure. Data centres have recently been formally recognised as CNI, reflecting how central cloud infrastructure has become to critical service delivery.
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The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, currently progressing through Parliament, is proposed to bring managed service providers and other critical suppliers directly into scope, not only the CNI operator itself. In practice, this means the security posture of your suppliers becomes part of your own compliance picture, worth checking now rather than once the Bill takes effect.
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It depends on the sensitivity of the service and your organisation's own risk position. Data sovereignty, including where infrastructure is owned and which jurisdiction it falls under, is an active consideration for CNI operators, and one we help clients assess as part of any cloud architecture decision.
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As currently proposed, in-scope organisations would face an initial notification requirement within 24 hours of becoming aware of a significant incident, followed by a fuller report within 72 hours. Meeting that timeline depends on having the monitoring and evidence trail in place beforehand, not building it after the fact.
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No, but it does change how the migration needs to be architected. Legacy infrastructure often cannot be treated the same way as modern IT systems, which is why a generic cloud migration approach tends to fall short for CNI environments.
These are the questions that come up most often, but every CNI environment carries its own specifics. If your situation raises something not covered here, that is exactly the kind of conversation worth having directly.
Experts in Regulated Sectors
Defended Solutions works across Defence, Critical National Infrastructure, and Commercial organisations operating in regulated environments, bringing the same architecture and assurance approach to each.
If your organisation sits across more than one of these sectors, or somewhere in between, get in touch to discuss your specific requirements directly.
